Jelly Bean king Richard Cullen has received a €10m windfall after selling his remaining shareholding in the Dublin gourmet sweet firm he set up with his father 18 years ago.

The Dublin-based quality sweet maker that produces 14m jelly beans a day last year recorded a big jump in revenues, but posted a fall in pre-tax profits.

The operators of a gourmet jelly bean maker last year enjoyed the sweet smell of success with profits more than doubling to €2.27m.

Sales of heart-shaped products for Valentine’s Day are but a drop in the ocean for Dublin’s Jelly Bean Factory, which produces 12 million beans a day and achieved turnover of €12m in 2013, writes Trish Dromey