Independent tour bus operator Paddywagon is aiming to set up a chain of restaurants for tourist hot-spots across the country.
The travel firm has confirmed its expansion plans as new accounts show that Paddywagon Ltd last year returned to profit to record post tax profits of €161,848 after two years of Covid-19 losses.
The business recorded the profit in the 12 months to the end of October 2022 as Covid-19 restrictions eased and the return to profit followed the firm incurring Covid-19 related post tax losses of €1.07m in 2021.
Pre-Covid 19, the company enjoys revenues of €13.98m in 2019 and revenues plummeted by €10.75m to €3.22m in 2020. The company recorded a pre-tax loss of €1.33m in 2020.
Business has since rebounded and the firm today has 70 to 80 of its trademark green buses on the road and is expanding its tourist services beyond bus operations.
The company has opened a Kingdom Lodge in Killarney while it is now operating the Frantic Chef restaurant in Liscannor a short distance on the Wild Atlantic Way from Ireland's busiest natural visitor attraction at the Cliffs of Moher.
Business has been buoyant at the restaurant this summer with a company spokeswoman remarking the Liscannor restaurant "is probably the busiest lunch-serving restaurant in Ireland for tourists".
The Paddywagon business was boosted in 2022 with visitor numbers rebounding at one of its most popular stops, the Cliffs off Moher to 1.1m.
The company spokeswoman said the Liscannor restaurant is "the first of a franchise to be set up in every densely populated tourist area in the country".
The spokeswoman also confirmed that Paddywagon is adding significantly to the Belfast experience by building a hotel "with a rooftop bar".
The accounts show that the profit for 2022 takes account of hefty non-cash depreciation costs of €1.17m and interests costs of €68,733.
Numbers employed last year increased from 47 to 58. The profit last year resulted in the firm having accumulated profits of €1.9m at the end of October last.
The firm’s cash funds doubled rising from €938,440 to €1.87m.
The business was established by Cathal O’Connell in 1998 and last year pay to directors Cathal O’Connell and Cormac O’Connell declined from €63,724 to €15,344.
The company paid rent of €111,703 to parent firm, Paddywagon Holdings Ltd.
- reporting Gordon Deegan
