Business

Hotelier John Brennan says costs of doing business are ‘off the wall’

Kerry businessman blames costs ‘inflicted’ by Government for increased pressure

John Brennan (right) with Bryan Meehan, the new owner of the Park Hotel in Kenmare. Photograph: Alan Betson

Gordon Deegan
Thu Jan 11 2024 - 16:25

The price of doing business in the Republic is now “off the wall” when compared with other European countries, according to renowned hotelier John Brennan.

In an interview on Thursday, Mr Brennan said the increased cost pressure was mainly due to “inflicted costs” by Government.

He said the February bank holiday “which no one wanted” took €25,000 off the bottom line of the three businesses he was running last year.

He highlighted the relative height of the State’s minimum wage and VAT rates compared with the rest of the EU.

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“It is not fair to say, ‘We were in a restaurant here and the burger cost €22′. It has to be €22 because 40 per cent of the €22 goes on wages,” he said. “We are not magicians – it is pure economics.”

Pointing to former taoiseach Enda Kenny’s goal of Ireland being the best small country in the world in which to do business, he said, “I don’t know what happened to that train but it is well off track now.”

[ Park Hotel sold by Brennan brothers to California-based Irish businessman ]

[ Kenmare man to take charge of Lansdowne Hotel from Brennan brothers ]

Mr Brennan, along with his brother Francis Brennan, recently sold two hotels in Kenmare, Co Kerry – The Park and The Lansdowne – but he retains the nearby Dromquinna Manor, which hosts some 55 events such as weddings each year and provides accommodation including glamping.

“I don’t see any realisation in Government that adding costs to business is a dangerous thing to do,” he said on Thursday.

Business operators can raise prices but “this is only possible if the market can wear it and households’ disposable income isn’t what it was a year ago,” he said.

Mr Brennan made his remarks when commenting on new accounts for Dromquinna Manor which show that it recorded post-tax profits of €164,792 in 2022.

Accounts for Cloud Nine Management Services Limited show that those profits followed profits of €313,868 in 2021.

At the end of 2022, the company had accumulated profits of €1.38 million and employed 29 people.

“We had a very good year in 2022,” said Mr Brennan.

A 4 per cent decline in revenues in 2023 was mainly due to the “atrocious and brutal” weather from last July which hit food and beverage revenues at Dromquinna’s BoatHouse restaurant, he added.

“There are eight businesses in Dromquinna and they all do well towards the bottom line. I have no worries about Dromquinna – it is a fine business and now I have more time to concentrate on it,” he said.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times

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