Dublin City Centre BID Company collected €2.5 million from businesses in the capital last year, according to its latest figures as seen by colleague Barry O’Halloran.

Set up by businesses to improve and promote Dublin’s main shopping area – BID stands for business improvement district – the company’s remit covers an area bounded by Amiens Street and Capel Street on the northside and Dawson Street and George’s Street on the southside.

The area includes Grafton Street, which Dublin City Council plans to resurface over 18 months at a cost of €4 million.

Accounts for the organisation, which is funded by a levy on businesses operating in the area for which it is responsible, show that it collected €2.52 million from these organisations in 2012. Along with that, it earned €294,950 in sponsorship during the year.

Both sponsorship and levy income were up, giving it a total revenue of €2.8 million in 2012 compared with €2.46 million the previous year. The levy collected is over and above the rates paid to the local authority.

Small deficit
Spending also increased, and the organisation was left with a €13,000 deficit. However, its reserves, which stood at over €118,000 on December 31st, were more than adequate to cover that.

Within that, the figures show that it actually cut wages, despite adding one employee to its workforce.

The figures show that the average number of people employed last year was 21, compared with 20 in 2011. The 2012 wage bill was €787,728, compared with €820,903 the previous year.

The organisation’s aims include bringing more people into the city centre for shopping and entertainment, combating anti-social behaviour by working with the Garda, cleaning streets and removing graffiti.