Center Parcs in Longford more than doubles profits to €20m

Pretax profits at the €280 million Center Parcs holiday resort in Co Longford this year more than doubled to €19.8 million on the back of average weekly revenues of €1.68 million.

New accounts filed by Center Parcs Ireland Ltd show that the resort recorded a 144 per cent increase in pretax profits as revenues surged by 51 per cent, or €29.6 million, to €87.4 million in the 12 months to the end of April 20th, 2023.

The €87.4 million revenue total equates to average daily revenues of €239,453 for the 12 months.

The resort achieved the record revenues as occupancy rates increased to 97.9 per cent, up from 73.2 per cent in the previous year

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The average daily lodge rent achieved was €281.28, up from €254.74 for 2022.

[ Owner of Center Parcs chain of resorts races to seal sale ]

The company’s earnings before interest depreciation tax and amortisation (Ebitda) last year increased by 62 per cent from €21.5 million to €34.8 million.

The Irish business paid out dividends of €13.8 million last year.

In May of this year, Canadian owner of the Center Parc resorts in Ireland and Britain, private equity group Brookfield, put them up for sale, seeking between £4 billion (€4.7 billion) and £5 billion.

The directors refer to the planned sale in their report with the latest accounts, noting that they have satisfied themselves that any such transition would have no impact on the going concern position of the company.

It emerged last week that a final bid deadline had passed without any formal offers being made for the resort chain.

The Co Longford resort opened to the public in July 2019, with the latest year the first where the resort’s annual performance has not been affected by Covid-19 restrictions.

Center Parcs has a planning application before An Bord Pleanála for a big expansion within the existing 160-hectare site that includes 198 new lodges.

Numbers employed at the Longford Village resort this year increased by 154 from 1,079 to 1,233, while staff costs climbed by 32 per cent from €18.8 million to €24.9 million.

The company put a book value of €258 million on its fixed assets at the end of April last. It had shareholder funds of €112 million at the end of April 2023, with cash funds increasing from €35.6 million to €50.9 million.

The accounts show that in a post-balance sheet event, the company last month refinanced its existing €165.3 million loan and a new facility of €265 million was entered into, of which €165.3 million was used to settle the existing loan facility on July 26th, 2023.