Losses grow for Ely Wine Bar company

THE COMPANY behind popular Dublin venue Ely Wine Bar saw its losses mount last year as expansion costs and the recession took their toll.

Accounts recently filed for AMB Trading House, which owns the Dublin bars, show it incurred losses of €461,211 in the year ended June 30th 2010. This compounds a loss of €977,355 recorded in the 18 months to June 30th, 2009. At that date, AMB’s liabilities exceeded its assets by €911,658.

The company’s auditors Grant Thornton warned these conditions suggest that “material uncertainty” exists which may cast significant doubt over AMB’s ability to continue as a going concern.

However, founder and director of the Ely restaurant group Erik Robson said that “enormous in-roads” have been made on debts accumulated as a result of its expansion in 2006 and late 2007.

The business has been hit with the “double whammy” of expansion costs and the impact of the recession on the restaurant trade.Nonetheless in 2010 group turnover rose about 35 per cent year-on-year, he said.

Apart from sounding a warning about the company’s future, auditors Grant Thornton did not give AMB’s latest accounts a clean bill of health. It issued a “qualified opinion”, expressing reservations about the information provided by AMB in relation to loans.

This limited the scope of the audit and prevented Grant Thornton from confirming the accuracy of the company’s loans payable balance.

AMB is owned by Cormac Twomey, Erik Robson, Michelle Moyles and Eamonn Moyles.