Kerry-based Garvey group’s finances were on the rise before pandemic

The family-owned Garvey group that owns nine SuperValu supermarkets and two hotels in Munster was becoming increasingly profitable on its annual sales of almost €125 million before the pandemic hit, according to recently filed accounts.

In the 12-month period ending in the first week of last January, the group’s operating profits rose about 18 per cent to €4.5 million, while profits after tax rose more than €1 million to almost €2.9 million. The group’s balance sheet showed €26.2 million of shareholders’ funds, while it had outstanding loans of about €27.8 million.

The group, which has its origins in Dingle in Co Kerry, operates four supermarkets in its home county, two in Waterford, two in Limerick and one in Cobh in Co Cork. Its hotel assets include the Dingle Skellig and the Benner in the same town.

Financial position

The group’s directors say in a note attached to the accounts that the pandemic, which hit two months after the date of the accounts, has not “materially impacted the group’s financial position”, although its retail sales would have risen strongly in line with the market, while its hotels will have suffered due to tough restrictions to combat the spread of the virus.

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The directors also suggest that a gain recorded on the sale of a building by the group in 2020 helped to make up for much of its losses to Covid.

The six directors, including five Garvey family members, shared about €600,000 in payments over the year, the group said, while dividends of €300,000 were also paid to the family.