Cork food firm Cully & Sully increases reserves by €2m

The Cork artisan food firm sold by

Colum O'Sullivan and Cullen Allen to an organic products group based in the United States increased its accumulated profits by more than €2.15 million last year.

Abridged accounts for Cully & Sully Ltd show that it increased reserves by €2.152 million from €522,857 to €2.674 million in the 18 months to the end of last June.

Co-founders Mr O'Sullivan and Mr Allen – a nephew of Ballymaloe's Darina Allen – shared a multimillion euro windfall after they sold their business to the New York-based Hain Celestial in 2012.

Hain Celestial’s 2013 annual report shows that it paid €10.46 million in cash for Cully & Sully with a further €4.5 million to be paid based upon the achievement of specified operating results during the period through to June 30th of this year.

Hain Celestial's 2013 annual report says that "the acquisition, which is part of our United Kingdom operating segment, provides us entry into the Irish marketplace and complements our existing UK product offerings".

Yesterday Mr O’Sullivan, a director of the firm, said he was “very happy” with how Cully & Sully Ltd had performed since the acquisition. He said the €2.15 million profit was not all attributable to Cully & Sully. “I wish that was the case, but it relates to other businesses as well,” he said.

Mr O'Sullivan said he hopes the Cully & Sully brand will launch in the UK this year. "We launched in Belgium last August and that has gone very, very well and sales have been very good."

Mr O’Sullivan said that the company also intends to launch its products in the US market at some stage.