The Carton House hotel resort in Co Kildare sustained a €10.9 million pandemic hit to revenues in 2020. New accounts for the Belmullet Hospitality Group Ltd that operates Carton House Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort in Maynooth show that the business suffered pretax losses of €14.5 million in the first year of the pandemic.
The Covid-19 enforced closures of 2020 resulted in revenues dropping by 72 per cent or €10.9 million, to €4.25 million.
The resort has since undergone substantial refurbishment and the accounts state that the owners “are committed to maintain significant investment and support to this valuable asset and business over the coming years”.
The resort regularly hosts the Irish rugby team at training camps.
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The results, recently filed, show the business also took a non-cash writedown of €10 million in 2020 after an impairment review carried out by directors, who state that the valuation given was on the basis of conditions at the end of 2020.
The hotel resort was sold by the Mallaghan and Kelly families to Irish-American businessman John Mullen for around €57 million in 2017. The newly-renovated hotel reopened in June 2021 after being closed for five months. Further refurbishment will take place throughout 2021 and into 2022, the directors stated.
The owners have partnered with a luxury hotel brand, the directors said, to maximise the potential of the hotel and resort and the long-term return on their investment.
The 2020 loss takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.39 million but also includes Government grants of €411,709. Staff numbers totalled 86 for 2020 and staff costs totalled €3.42 million.
The accounts put a book value of €67.52 million on the business’s tangible assets, including €36.8 million on the company’s freehold property.
