Post-tax profits at four-star Wineport Lodge hotel decrease by 47% to €559,636

Gordon Deegan

The firm that operates the four-star Wineport Lodge hotel located on the shores of Lough Ree in Co Westmeath recorded post-tax profits of €559,636 last year.

The business is owned by husband and wife team, Ray Byrne and Jane English, and new accounts for Wineport Lodge Ltd show that the post-tax profits of €559,636 last year are down 47 per cent on the post-tax profits of €1.05 million recorded in 2023.

The profits of the last two years follow post-tax profits of €196,066 in 2022 and post-tax profits of €727,359 in 2021.

In 1993, the couple set up a small restaurant at Portaneena between the villages of Ballykeeran and Glasson, and the business has grown steadily over the years to be a luxury lakeside boutique hotel which today also includes a spa and wellness centre.

For a number of years, the restaurant at the hotel was the setting for the TV show, The Restaurant, which was broadcast on RTÉ for a number of years.

The new accounts show that the post-tax profits of €559,636 for last year resulted in the company having accumulated profits of €4.24 million at the end of last year.

The post-tax profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €210,583 and interest costs of €111,924.

The company’s cash funds decreased from €778,943 to €676,916.

The couple last year continued to invest in the business, with the value of tangible assets increasing from €7.58m to €7.78m.

The number employed at the business last year decreased from 49 to 47, made up of 45 in general and two in administration.

Pay to the two directors last year increased slightly from €394,231 to €400,000. Ms English and Mr Byrne own the business on a 50/50 basis.

The amount owed to Ms English by the company increased from €64,235 to €144,503 in 2024.

Separate accounts lodged by another independently owned hotel company, which operates the Connacht Hotel on the outskirts of Galway City, show that it recorded pre-tax profits of €454,495 in 2023.

The pre-tax profits for Connacht Hospitality Ltd were a 78 per cent decrease on the pre-tax profits of €2.13 million for 2022.

The hotel firm recorded the drop in profits as revenues increased by 11.5 per cent from €16.78 million to €18.72 million.

Numbers employed by the business in 2023 increased from 177 to 232 as staff costs rose from €5.65 million to €6.6 million. The profits for 2023 took account of non-cash depreciation costs of €686,361.