Accumulated profits at an investment company owned by Sean O’Driscoll, the former Glen Dimplex chief executive, leapt from €14.1 million to €20 million in 2023, new financial accounts show.
Roaring Waters Capital Limited, which is owned by Mr O’Driscoll and his wife Rose O’Riordan, made a profit for the year of €5.9 million, up from €2.8 million the year before.
Its investment income for the year was €6 million, up from €3.3 million the year before, and it valued its portfolio of investments at €16.2 million, the accounts show, with €15.3 million worth of shares in listed companies and €864,613 in unlisted investments.
During the year it bought €10.3 million worth of shares and sold down €9.8 million, though it gave no indication of which shares it bought and sold, or when it bought and sold them.
Overall it grew the size of its investment portfolio from €13.2 million at the start of the year to €15.3 million. It was also owed €2.5 million by debtors – other group undertakings – and had €1.3 million in cash.
Its financial position was boosted during the year by a €6 million dividend it received from a related company, Roaring Waters SI Limited. Accounts for that entity show that it had fixed assets worth €2.5 million at the end of the year.
O’Driscoll has made a number of high-profile investments in Irish shares in recent years. In July, he increased his stake in Datalex, the travel software company backed by Dermot Desmond, to 6.11 per cent. At the time, his stake would have been worth €3.5 million, though Datalex’s shares have slipped slightly in value since then.
He also has an 11.32 per cent stake in Malin Corporation, the life sciences company, which is currently worth around €12 million.
For a time, he had a holding in Barryroe Resources – formerly Providence Resources – before it was taken private by Larry Goodman.
It is not clear what other investments Mr O’Driscoll might hold, and he declined to comment when contacted by The Irish Times.
Mr O’Driscoll is the former chief executive of Glen Dimplex. He is a member of the council of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the National Competitiveness Council of Ireland, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Board of the International Energy Agency, and the Trilateral Commission.
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