Covid closures cut €37m from Louis Fitzgerald earnings

The pub and hotel group, which owns Kehoe’s and the Stag’s Head in Dublin, suffered a €37million drop in sales last year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the hospitality industry.

That’s according to new accounts filed by Burtse Ltd, the holding company of the Louis Fitzgerald pub and hotel group, which show the company posted a pre-tax loss of €306,598 in the 12 months to the end of June last year.

In the 12 months, revenue fell by 70% from €53 million to €16 million. The drop in sales is even more acute at 77.5% from pre-Covid sales of €71.39m in FY2019

Government restrictions resulted in the group’s pubs being closed for much of the year under review and the group received €5.72million in government Covid-19 grants.

Directors note that the current situation is dynamic, “and there are constant uncertainties regarding the duration of the pandemic, future disruptions to the hospitality industry and the speed of industry recovery.”

However, they state that the group “is in a strong financial position to withstand potential future challenges in this context”.

The salaries of directors Louis Fitzgerald and his wife Helen fell from €408,345 to €318,292 last year.

The two run the family-owned Louis Fitzgerald group, with Fitzgerald’s grown children now playing a prominent role in running the company.

The group’s businesses include the well-known Dublin city center pubs, Stag’s Head, Kehoes, Bruxelles, The Gin Palace, Grand Central and Quays Temple Bar.

The group also operates An Poitín Stil, The Laurels, Palmerstown House, The Roost, Annie May’s, Carroll’s, The Arlington Hotel and The Louis Fitzgerald Hotel.

The company’s workforce fell by 148 last year from 825 to 677 as staff costs, including directors’ salaries, more than halved from €14.7 million to €5.8 million.

Burtse recorded the pre-tax loss after accounting for non-cash depreciation charges of €3.5 million.

Burtse posted an operating profit of €825,307 and paid €1.13 million in interest payments to achieve a pre-tax loss of €306,598. The company had shareholder funds of €42.55 million including accumulated profits of €12.8 million. Burtse’s cash and cash equivalents decreased from €5.6 million to €1.34 million.