Cullen hotel’s losses widen to €9.9m
According to company filings, accumulated losses at the Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney rose from €9.059 million to €9.937m in the 12 months ending December 2009. The post-tax loss of €878,000 in 2009 compared to a €2m loss in 2008.
The losses in both years included significant non-cash depreciation costs with depreciation amounting to €437,255 in 2009.
The 18th-century hotel was bought by Mr Cullen and Jackie Lavin in 1990. It has 68 rooms, a conference centre, a Gothic-inspired spa including the Jackie Lavin beauty shop, and Molly Darcy’s Irish pub.
The accounts show the businessman has ploughed €8.42m of his money into the business, including an advance of €523,475 in 2009. The company also owes €1.7m to Boisdale Holdings Ltd, a company controlled by Mr Cullen.
The company had a deficiency of assets totalling €6.9m at the end of December 2009.
A spokesman for Mr Cullen said yesterday: “The losses are narrowing and Mr Cullen is optimistic that the hotel is moving into a period of profitability soon.”
He said Mr Cullen “is very optimistic about the future of the hotel”, which employs 70 people.
“The hotel is performing extremely well this year and has been full the past month, enjoying a very strong bounce from the Irish Open and the visit of the Queen and President Obama,” he said.
A note attached to the accounts for Muckross Park Hotel Ltd say “the company has continued to incur substantial losses in 2009, which the directors acknowledge creates a material uncertainty over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
The note confirmed that directors, Mr Cullen and Ms Lavin “have undertaken steps to reduce costs wherever possible while at the same time ensuring that the level of service and quality is maintained. The company is also negotiating with its bankers to ensure the availability of the required banking facilities.
“The directors have also undertaken to continue to provide whatever financial assistance is necessary to the company.”
Auditors OCKT state that the “accumulated losses over the last number of years indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt over the company’s ability to continue to trade as a going concern”.
Mr Cullen is the chair of the Bill Cullen Motor Group. He is also the author of the bestseller, It’s A Long Way From Penny Apples, detailing his life from growing up in inner-city Dublin to become one of Ireland’s best known businessmen.
