Business is ‘very difficult’, says Charlie Chawke as rising interest charges and energy costs hit profits at three of his pubsSurging interest charges of €759,575 hit profits at the entity that operates three of Charlie Chawhis pubs including Ireland’s most expensive pub, The Old Orchard in Rathfarnham.
However, the directors state that profitability was hit by “higher than anticipated” interest charges of €759,575, which were up on the €292,023 recorded in 2022. This reduced its pretax profit to €137,617. Zoned land without utilities cannot solve housing problem, Construction Industry Federation boss saysHe confirmed that the interest costs were mainly connected to the Old Orchard purchase in 2005 when he paid out a record €22 million for the pub.“We hope that, please God, the Minister will do something for us in the VAT and take back that horrible VAT increase and we might get back to making money again.
The directors for Milltown Inns state that before the interest charges are taken into account the underlying business operations remained robust with steady revenue across key segments. The group’s Ebitda was €1.42 million “which represents strong earnings on the group’s turnover”.