PURCELL BROS, a holding company for the livestock-exporting Purcell family, recorded an operating loss of €1.3 million in 2008.

The result compared to a loss of €1.9 million a year earlier and came as the firm registered a dramatic drop in turnover.

Revenues declined from €20.3 million to €107,000 as recorded trade with the UK ceased entirely.

The accounts say the company’s main activities are “investment property, share trading, cattle livestock and receipt of rental income”. Its directors, Gerard and Patrick Purcell, acknowledge that “the current economic downturn may have an effect on operations”.

The value of properties in the firm’s portfolio is thought to have depreciated substantially over the year, although no details of this are included in the accounts.

The shareholders’ deficit at the company climbed from €5.3 million to €6.6 million in 2008.

Purcell Bros is believed to represent a very small part of total Purcell family interests, which span a number of sectors.

The family’s wealth grew from a cattle trading enterprise established by Gerard and Patrick’s late father, Séamus, in the 1940s.

The business, which flourished through trade with Libya, attracted unwanted focus in 2000 when it was involved in a High Court case over debts owed to National Irish Bank.

In the 2008 accounts, the directors of Purcell Bros acknowledge that the future of the company is “dependent” on their continued support.

The report shows that the company owed €14.9 million to its directors at the end of 2008, down slightly from €14.6 million a year earlier. Work in progress was valued at €8.4 million, down from €9.5 million in 2007.