K Club golf resort drives home 59% increase in operating profit

Operating profits at the group behind Co Kildare’s exclusive K Club hotel and golf resort increased 59 per cent to €1.895 million last year, according to new accounts.
Filings by Bishopscourt Investments Ltd and subsidiaries show revenues increased by 5 per cent from €24.48 million to €25.73 million.
Bishopscourt Investments, controlled by nursing home investor Michael Fetherston, acquired the famous resort from Michael Smurfit in 2020 in a deal believed to have been worth between €65 million and €70 million.
Its latest consolidated accounts show the group recorded a pretax loss of €86,048 after non-cash depreciation costs of €1.98 million were taken into account. It followed losses of €2.19 million in 2022, a decrease of 96 per cent.
The chief factor was the group’s non-cash depreciation costs which fell by 41 per cent, or €1.4 million, from €3.86 million in 2022 to €1.98 million last year.
The business remained affected by Covid-19 for the first two and a half years of Mr Fetherston’s ownership.
On the risks facing the resort, the directors said the industry in which the company operates is “competitive and challenging, however, the directors have detailed knowledge and experience in this sector”.
Regarding future developments, they said they were continuing to invest in various facilities across the resort which “is expected to positively affect the future trading of the group and the company”.
Numbers employed increased from 257 to 262 last year with staff costs reaching €10.77 million, compared to €10.24 million in 2022.
Net liabilities stood at €28 million at the end of 2023. A note addressing the business’s going concern status said the ultimate controlling party has agreed to support the company for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements.
At the end of last December, the business had a €55.43 million loan from its shareholder and €12.55 million in accrued interest on shareholder loans. The group’s cash funds during 2023 decreased from €2.2 million to €1.89 million.
The accounts put a book value of €62.2 million on the group’s tangible assets. At the end of December 2023, the group had a shareholders’ deficit of €28.1 million made up of accumulated losses of €60.53 million, offset by €32.33 million in a share premium account.