BB's Coffee and Muffins records pretax loss of £1.46m for 2008

BB’S COFFEE and Muffins Ltd, the UK company that is the main trading arm of the Limerick-based cafe franchising group, recorded a pretax loss of £1.46 million (€1.69 million) in the year to September 30th, 2008, according to accounts just filed.

The group has about 180 outlets in the Republic and the UK, with approximately 30 in Ireland.

The £1.46 million loss compares with a £263,615 profit the previous year.

The abbreviated accounts for the company show that gross profit increased to £7.2 million from £5.7 million, but administrative expenses increased at a faster rate, growing to £8.2 million from £5 million the previous year.

The company’s balance sheet shows accumulated losses of £9 million and a closing shareholders’ deficit of £6 million.

The London-based coffee-shop proprietor and franchiser has three directors: Kieran Walshe, of Castletroy, Limerick; David Sykes, of Monkstown, Co Dublin; and Philip Abbot, an Australian with an address in London. Mr Sykes is an adviser to entrepreneur Denis O’Brien. The company secretary is Helen Malone, with an address in the Isle of Man.

The shares in the trading company are owned, by way of two other companies, by the shareholders in BB’s Holdings Ltd, London. These are a number of individuals, a company called Striker Investments Ltd, and TBL Holdings Ltd, which is owned by Mr Walshe and Mr Sykes and is the ultimate parent company. It is not known where Striker Investments is registered.

The latest abbreviated balance sheet of BB’s Coffee Muffins Holdings Ltd, which is a direct owner of BB’s Coffee Muffins Ltd, shows it to have shareholders’ funds of £5.9 million, including a share premium account of £7.3 million and accumulated losses of £2.3 million. The figures are identical to those for the 2007 year.

The accounts for BB’s Coffee Muffins Ltd show it had 213 employees during the year, up from 102 the previous year. Employment costs, at £3.48 million, compare to £2.3 million the previous year. The notes on the accounts show the company closed its UK head office and certain stores during the year, leading to the writing off of certain assets.