Profits at Copper Face Jacks nightclub complex hit €72m
In another stellar year for the company that operates Copper’s on Dublin’s Harcourt St, Breanagh Catering Ltd last year recorded pre-tax profits of €5.16m or just under €100,000 per week.
Boosted by the All-Ireland senior football win by Dublin in September of last year and a booming night-time scene in the capital, the cash mountain at the Coppers firm last year jumped by €5.1m from €54.79m to €59.84m. The company recorded the increase in pre-tax profits after the company’s gross profit — including unspecified “other operating income” — increased by 8.5% going from €11.35m to €12.32m in the 12 months to January 31 this year.
The €5.1m in pre-tax profits of last year followed pre-tax profits of €5m in 2015; €4.9m in 2014, and €5.5m in 2013.
Last year, the company’s accumulated profits rose from €67.58m to €71.96m.
The club is owned by former garda Cathal Jackson and housed in the Jackson Court Hotel on Dublin’s Harcourt St. It has long since entered Dublin night-time folklore and has amassed the massive cashpile over the years.
The nightclub opened in 1995 and a number of new entrants have entered the lucrative Dublin scene in recent years, but armed with its €59.9m cashpile, the directors of Breanagh state that “the company is proactive in trying to stay ahead of competition”.
To that end, the business last year spent €782,502 in acquiring assets and this followed a payout of €1.4m for assets in 2015.
Paula Jackson sits on the board with Cathal Jackson and they rewarded themselves well last year with pay to directors going from €684,498 to €790,568.
Last year, 2016 was a year of expansion for the business as the number employed rose from 195 to 218 with staff costs increasing from €3.94m to €4.42m.
The nightclub operates seven nights a week and has six bars, two covered beer gardens, a cocktail bar and a premium level that has a private room aimed at hosting private parties.
The nightclub area also has a cocktail bar and a VIP bar. The net cash generated from operating activities at the company last year totalled €5.56m compared to €4.48m in 2015. The pre-tax profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €729,903.
The firm’s operating profit last year was €4.8m and finance income of €308,219 boosted profits to €5.16m.
The firm paid corporation tax of €786,03. As a result the firm had post-tax profits of €4.3m. At the end of January last, the firm’s tangible assets had a book value of €13.2m. The company’s administrative costs last year increased from €7m to €7.4m.
