Co. Donegal’s five-star Lough Eske Castle hotel, which is part of Pat Doherty’s Harcourt Developments, recorded profits of €1.54 million for 2016, with revenues rising to €8.56 million.
As reported by the Irish Independent, Harcourt Developments’ finance director, Nick Doherty, said, “Two thousand sixteen [2016] was a strong year for Lough Eske, where overall revenues grew by 6%. Overall, in terms of geographical market share, we witnessed strong growth both from the Irish and US markets, which more than offset a slight decline in the UK market.”
Commenting on what attributed to the after-tax profit of €1.54 million, Doherty added, “The principal factors behind this include an improved top-line revenue performance and a greater focus on cost control at the hotel.”
Doherty went on to address the hotel’s performance in 2017 to date, asserting, “Revenues continue to increase in 2017, whereby we are facing strong overall growth on last year, in terms of both turnover and profitability. Now that the hotel has reached its ten-year anniversary and is performing strongly, we are currently considering further development opportunities.”
As far as the fallout from Brexit goes, Doherty said that it was “minimal during 2016”, with Lough Eske experiencing a level of UK business that was “fairly constant”.
However, he noted, “The UK declined slightly in terms of its market share of overall revenue. This trend has continued in 2017, largely due to the fall in the sterling foreign-exchange rate since the Brexit vote and the higher level of US visitors.”
