Doyle Collection hotel group back in the black

The Irish-owned Doyle Collection hotel group returned to the black in 2013, a year when the company sold three of its properties in the US and refinanced its bank debt.

Latest accounts for Doyle Hotels (Holdings) Ltd show that the company recorded a profit after tax of €4.1 million last year compared with a loss of €3.5 million in 2012.

Turnover for the Irish hotel group fell to €108.5 million from €126.5 million last year. This reflected the impact of the sale of three hotels in the US – the Back Bay in Boston, and the Normandy and Courtyard properties in Washington DC.

On a like-for-like basis, turnover rose by 2.2 per cent.

Excluding the hotels that were sold, the company recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €24.4 million, which was in line with the previous year when the effects of currency were taken into account.

Sale of US hotels

The Doyle group achieved net proceeds of €108.9 million from the sale of the US hotels. They had been valued on the books at €107.1 million, thereby releasing a profit of just under €1.8 million to the group.

The accounts provide some details about the refinancing of its bank debt last year. The group's facilities with AIB were extended out to December 2017, with the hotel group repaying a €323 million loan while drawing down a new loan of €220 million. It incurred loan arrangement fees of €5.2 million in the process. This refinancing had the effect of reducing its net debt to €191 million at the end of last December, down from €289 million a year previously. Its interest bill last year reduced by almost €2 million to €10.5 million.

The group’s tax charge for the year also reduced substantially, to €5 million in 2013 from €14 million in the previous period – due to the release of a deferred tax credit during the year.

The Doyle Collection comprises eight hotels in Ireland and Britain – including the five-star Westbury in Dublin – and is owned by members of the Doyle and Beatty families.

The group has continued to invest in its portfolio, with €7 million in capital additions during 2013 and €10 million this year.

The accounts note that shareholders purchased an option to acquire the freehold of the River Lee Hotel in Cork, which is a leased property. The group has the option to acquire the property at a future date for an agreed price.