Louis Fitzgerald pubs generate €6.9m pay package for owners

The couple who own some of Dublin's best known pubs including Kehoe's and The Stag's Head, Louis Fitzgerald and his wife Helen Fitzgerald, shared a pay packet of €6.854 million last year.

The total marked a 15-fold increase on the €435,962 the two received in directors’ pay for 2017.

The package – which works out at €131,814 for the two per week – is disclosed in new accounts for the largest entity in the Louis Fitzgerald pub and hotel group, Burtse Ltd. The accounts show pretax profits declined by 30 per cent to €5.6 million last year.

The Fitzgerald couple lead the family-owned Louis Fitzgerald group, where their adult children now take a prominent role.

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The drop in pretax profits at Burtse in the 12 months to the end of June last is wholly attributable to the Fitzgeralds’ pay last year.

The Fitzgeralds rewarded themselves after Burtse’s revenues increased by 16 per cent from €60.4 million to €69.9 million.

Burtse Ltd counts the Quays Bar, The Stag’s Head, Kehoe’s and The Louis Fitzgerald hotel in Dublin among its star performers.

Numbers employed by the business increased by 93 from 705 to 798 last year as staff costs, including directors’ pay, increased from €15.39 million to €22.2 million.

Costs

Burtse recorded the pretax profits of €5.6 million after taking account of non-cash depreciation costs of €3.74 million.

Burtse had operating profits of €8.29 million and paid out €2.6 million in interest payments, leaving the pretax profit of €5.6 million.

The business had shareholder funds of €30.3 million after receiving a capital contribution of €18.45 million during the year.

Burtse’s cash increased from €17.56 million to €29.34 million. The accounts show that Burtse spent €16 million on investment properties along with €8 million on the purchase of tangible fixed assets. It also realised €4.7 million from the sale of investment properties.

Burtse’s total bank loans at the end of June last year totalled €56 million.

Burtse has put a book value of €111 million on its tangible assets.