Denis O'Brien's Algarve golf resort returns €1.5 million profit after Covid slump

Gordon Deegan

The company that manages Denis O’Brien’s Quinta do Lago golf resort in the Algarve made a profit of £1.37 million (€1.56 million) last year after making “a strong recovery” with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

Accounts for UK registered Algarve Golf Courses Ltd show that a subsidiary that manages the complex in Portugal – Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago – made the profit in the year to the end of December 2021.

The £1.37 million profit followed a loss of £3.7 million in 2020 – a positive swing of £5.07 million.

The firm closed the financial period with capital and reserves of £13.85 million.

The directors for Algarve Golf Courses Ltd state that the performance of the Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago “has had a strong recovery following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions which has continued into 2022”.

The directors state that they are satisfied with the performance of Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago in 2021.

Mr O’Brien acquired the Quinta do Lago resort in 1998, and has expanded it substantially in the years since. It comprises three golf courses, hotels, a sports campus and residential units.

Algarve Golf Courses had net assets itself of £7.24 million at the end of 2021 – unchanged from the end of 2020. The directors noted that it did not make a profit in 2020 as it did not trade. It paid no dividend for the year.

Separately, accounts for another Denis O’Brien-owned entity, Catalunya Golf Ltd, show that it recorded a pre-tax loss of £2.19 million during the year.

The firm is a holding company for companies engaged in the ownership and management of golf courses and the directors state both the level of business and the year-end financial position were satisfactory.

The firm’s loss arose from the foreign exchange conversion of the firm’s underlying investment and not from trading.

The £2.19 million loss followed a pre-tax profit of £1.7 million in 2020 and the 2020 profit arose from a foreign exchange gain.

The directors state that the company’s subsidiary “has had a strong recovery from the following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions which has continued into 2022”.

The subsidiary, PGA Golf de Caldas SA, is engaged in property development and recorded profits of £2.18 million last year. At the end of last year, it had shareholder funds of £14.5 million.