The owners of Roly's Bistro in Ballsbridge, Dublin, made in excess of €1.5 million from the restaurant in the year to end December 2004, according to accounts just filed. Colm Keena reports.

The major shareholders, John and Angela O'Sullivan, who own 3,455 (33.5 per cent) of the 10,300 issued shares in Wappinger Food Corporation Ltd, trading as Roly's, earned €715,200 in consultancy fees.

They earned the fees by way of their company, O'Neill Restaurants (Dublin) Ltd. O'Neill Restaurants owns 1,600 shares. in Wappinger.

Another shareholder/director, Mr Frank MacHugh earned €286,485 in consultancy fees by way of his company Direct Personal & Corporate Finance Ltd. Mr McHugh owns 2,541 shares in Wappinger.

Directors' remuneration was €556,862. The executive directors were John and Angela O'Sullivan, and Colin O'Daly. Mr O'Daly owns 1,604 of the shares in Wappinger.

The other directors are Mr MacHugh and Paul Cartwright, who owns 600 shares. The company secretary is Mary Mulligan. John Mulcahy, Ballymore, Camolin, Co Wexford, who is not on the board of Wappinger, owns 400 shares.

Gross profit, which is income after the purchase of food and drink, was €4.64 million. Profit after tax was €79,542. (For 2003 it was €70,364). Accumulated profit at year's end was €220,081.

The company paid Corporation Tax of €15,259 in 2004, up from €11,660 in 2003.

Mr O'Sullivan said turnover at the restaurant was up approximately 5 per cent but costs were up also.

Roly's was established in 1993 and has been consistently popular. "We're full every night," Mr O'Sullivan said.

Asked why he thought the restaurant was so successful, he said one of the key issues was value.

"We work on value. It's a cliché but I think we are very good value for what we do. We have 29 chefs. Everything is cooked to order. We have our own bakery. Everything is done in house."

He said that as well as value and the quality of the food served, the restaurant also worked well because one or other of the owners was so often on the premises.

The restaurant is located close to Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, in a building that once housed one of the original Hayes Conyngham Robinson pharmacy outlets. "It's a great location. There are a lot of big hotels around us and they are a big help. The Four Seasons has been great for us. We get a lot of business from there," Mr O'Sullivan said.