Kilkenny's Mount Juliet luxury estate swung back into the black last year
The Thomastown resort bounced back from a near-€2 million loss in 2015.
MOUNT JULIET LUXURY hotel resort swung back into the black last year despite a dip in sales.
According to the latest set of accounts filed for the Kilkenny estate, the firm behind it declared a profit of more than €378,600 in 2016, bouncing back from a near-€2 million loss the year before.
The documents also show that the company reported a €2.8 million profit from the disposal of part of its hotel and golf course. Mount Juliet reported sales of around €8.7 million, down about €736,000 on 2015′s tally.
The hotel employed an average of 103 people during the year, 24 fewer than in 2015. Wages and salaries were worth roughly €42,000 per head.
According to the directors’ report, one of the main risks the company has had to manage is “the hotel’s geographic location”.
“The directors are experienced and have a comprehensive business plan, based around continued improvement of the business offering, which they are confident will deliver a robust operating performance going forward,” the report said.
Planning application
Mount Juliet, which was built in the 1760s, is owned by Irish property group Tetrarch Capital, which bought the 500-acre resort for a reported €15 million in 2014.
Tetrarch – which also owns the Marker Hotel in Dublin, the Killashee House Hotel in Kildare and Wicklow’s Powerscourt Hotel – submitted a planning application in October to build 12 houses on the grounds of the estate.
A previous proposal for a housing development on the site was shot down by Kilkenny councillors.
According to documents for the fresh planning application, Tetrarch hopes to construct 12 “high-quality residential lodges in three, two-storey buildings”.
The units will be located north of Mount Juliet’s existing Rose Garden Lodges in an area that was formerly used as part of the golf club’s putting greens.
