Company behind Travelodge doubles profit as Tifco moves in

The company behind the Travelodge franchise in the Republic, which has just been taken over by Goldman Sachs-backed Irish hotel group Tifco, almost doubled its profits before tax last year.

Two former Jurys Doyle executives, Seamus McGowan and Richard O'Sullivan, along with accountant Stan Cooney, took over Travelodge's Irish portfolio in a €22.5 million deal in 2004. They set up a company called Smorgs to carry out the deal, which included eight hotels. Smorgs is involved in ownership and operation of a portfolio of three-star Travelodge hotels in the Republic and in Northern Ireland.

In financial statements for the year ended March 31st, Smorg’s directors said they were “satisfied” with the group’s performance during the year. The company had net assets of €5,586,424 at the end of the year compared with €2,630,129 in 2015.

Smorgs’ before-tax profit was €4,155,951 compared with €2,200,407 the year before. The firm’s after-tax profit for the period was €3,326,924 compared with €2,078,591 the year before.

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Interim dividend

The group paid an interim dividend of €300,000 during the year, having paid no dividend in 2015.

The statements also show how wages and salaries rose from €4,009,080 in 2015 to €4,701,751 in 2016 despite the number of staff dropping from 195 to 173.

Meanwhile, Tifco has been given the green light to take over the company following a ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

The commission formed the view that the proposed transaction “will not substantially lessen competition in any market for goods or services” in the State.

The deal will consolidate Tifco's position as the State's second largest hotel operator behind publicly-listed Dalata Hotel Group.