ONE OF the country’s best-known hotels, the five-star Ashford Castle in Co Mayo, recorded combined pretax losses totalling €39 million in 2009 and 2008.
Accounts show that €35 million of the losses are as a result of an impairment writedown on the company’s fixed assets.
Filings just been filed to the Companies Office show that Ashford Castle Estate Ltd (ACEL) recorded a pretax loss of €16.1 million in 2009 and this followed a pretax loss of €23.1 million in the 13 months to the end of December 2008.
The company wrote down the value of its fixed assets by €21.97 million in 2008 and €14.9 million in 2009. ACEL also wrote off €830,017 in 2008 and €547,789 in 2009 owed to it by connected companies.
Ashford Castle is owned by Galway businessman Gerry Barrett who also operates the G Hotel in Galway city.
The accounts do not provide a turnover figure, but record the company’s gross profit increased marginally from €4.89 million to €5 million in 2009.
Auditors for the company, Deloitte Touche state that ACEL is dependent on the financial support of the National Assets Management Agency (Nama), its non-Nama bank and the continuing support of its fellow group companies to be able to continue as a going concern.
The directors disclose the company owes €29.8 million to other companies within Mr Barrett’s Edward Holdings Group and the accounts show that the company owes an additional €29.2 million in bank loans.
The bank loans are secured in part by a personal guarantee of €10 million by Mr Barrett with an additional security placed on a mortgage protection policy of Mr Barrett for €7 million.
The two directors of the company are Mr Barrett and Catherine Barrett.
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