‘Welfare’ pub’s value drops

Dublin publican Gary Payne has hopefully recovered from the public roasting he received over an ill-fated "Welfare Wednesday" cut-price drinks promotion he had planned for Liz Delaney's pub in Coolock. Pints for €3 if you present a social welfare card, and so on.

The promotion drew a suitably outraged response everywhere – from the usual Twitter mob to Joan Burton, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection who called it "irresponsible".

Following the outcry that he was encouraging irresponsible drinking, Payne cancelled the "welfare" aspect of the promotion and went onto RTÉ's Morning Ireland to apologise. Not that he really should have been forced to.

Payne said the promotion was aimed at assisting people who have had a rough ride since the downturn. Looking at the accounts for Killzale, the company that owns Liz Delaney's, the business has had its own problems.

Killzale's last filed set of accounts, for 2013, show debts of about €5.8 million to banks, including Bank of Scotland (Ireland), which has left the Irish market.

The accounts said Killzale’s cashflow went to the bank but declining turnover crimped the money available, pushing the company deeper into arrears on its interest payments.

Writedowns on the value of Liz Delaney’s property pushed it into an accounting loss of €4.6 million. The pub is valued at €1.5 million in the accounts, compared with €14 million in 2007.

That year it made profits of €2.6 million and had shareholders funds of €11.2 million. So it’s not just some of Payne’s hard-pressed customers’ finances that are unrecognisable from the height of the boom.

The accounts, however, also state that the business is “working positively” with its banks.

As well as Liz Delaney’s, Killzale also own the business names “Miss Northside” and “Miss Southside”, which are registered for, ahem, a “talent” contest.

If that were to go ahead, it might really get the Twitter and Joe Duffy mobs upset.