Trading results at the former Sean Quinn hotel, the Slieve Russell in Co Cavan, "have been excellent" since last June and have outperformed the original budget.
That is according to new accounts for Slieve Russell Hotel Property Ltd which show that revenues at the Slieve Russell last year increased by 16% from €16.47m to €19.05m.
The hotel was put on the market last month with a price tag of €35m and the directors state that the sales process is likely to be concluded before the end of this year.
The sale is being conducted by CBRE on behalf of the liquidators of IBRC, Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson of Interpath Advisory.
The hotel has 224 bedrooms, as well as banqueting and leisure facilities, and is situated on 300 acres of land, which includes a PGA Championship golf course, a nine-hole par 3 course and driving range.
With the collapse of the Sean Quinn empire, the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), formerly Anglo Irish Bank, assumed control of the Slieve Russell hotel when a share receiver was appointed to the hotel firm in April 2011.
The business recorded operating profits of €1.85m in the 12 months to the end of June last as business volumes returned to pre-Covid levels.
However, the hotel firm was charged €1.848m in interest payments by IBRC (in Special Liquidation) reducing profits to a modest pre-tax profit of €9,000.
The interest payments of €1.848m are more than a three fold increase on the interest payments of €489,000 in 2022.
The firm also made loan repayments of €1.5m to the IBRC (in Special Liquidation) and this followed loan repayments of €2m in 2022.
On the business prospects for 2024, the directors state that the outlook for 2024 is positive and trading in 2024 is expected to be in line with 2023.
They state that the company has experienced significant inflationary increases, particularly in relation to utility and payroll related costs.
"In addition, disruption to energy, food and commodities markets has negatively impacted on costs," they state.
The directors also state that the board has continued its investment in the Slieve Russell property over the course of 2023 and into 2024 in order to ensure that the property is maintained to the highest possible standard.
The amount spent on capital investment since 2019 totals €7.5m.
The pre-tax profits of €9,000 are a tiny fraction of the pre-tax profits of €5.02m in 2022 which was skewed by Employer Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) payments of €3.28m.
Numbers employed last year increased from 240 to 272 as staff costs rose from €6.99m to €8.3m.
The modest profit also takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.03m.
Aggregate pay to key management last year increased from €669,000 to €718,000.
At the end of June last, the firm had a net liability position of €41.7m resulting from the high level of debts owed to IBRC (in Special Liquidation). The amount owed to the IBRC totalled €66.42m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
