Dubray paid €1.1m to Barrys before family sold business to Eason

Bookseller Dubray Books Ltd paid out a dividend of €1.1 million before the Barry family sold their Dubray books business to Eason for an undisclosed sum.

According to new accounts for Dubray Books Ltd, the business recorded after-tax profits of €581,946 in the 12 months to the end of August last.

The after-tax profits were marginally down on the €587,598 the previous year.

Dubray, which enjoys annual revenues of more than €9 million – comprises eight bookshops across the Greater Dublin Area and Galway and continues to operate under the Dubray brand as a stand-alone division within Eason following the February deal.

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Dubray’s shops are currently shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the retailer continues to sell books online.

The accounts disclose that after the end of August, Dubray Books Ltd paid a €1.1 million dividend to its parent firm, Finbar Investments Ltd, owned by the Barry family. The shareholders of the company were Barry family members, Gemma Barry, Cormac Barry and Eoghan Barry.

On February 24th, Finbar Investments Ltd sold its shares to Eason Operations Ltd to become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Eason company, and a liquidator was appointed to Finbar Investments Ltd the same day as part of a voluntary winding-up of the company.

Accumulated profits at Dubray Books Ltd at the end of last August totalled €2.035 million. The company’s cash funds increased from €881,283 to €929,667 during the year.