Bridgestock takes in €1.5m as profits double
ONE of the country's leading providers of asylum seeker and refugee accommodation more than doubled its operating profits to €1.5m last year.
Newly filed accounts for Bridgestock Ltd show the operating profit to June 2008 was more than double the €619,000 made the previous year.
Jointly operated by Seamus and Kathleen Gillen, the company operates eight accommodation centres across the country.
Despite the boom in last year's operating profits, pre-tax earnings dropped by 75pc to just over €268,000.
The fall was largely linked to a €1.1m exceptional gain booked in 2007, linked to a €1.1m asset sale, coupled with a doubling of 2008's interest bill to €1.3m.
The provision of accommodation for asylum seekers has become a lucrative sector in recent years.
Last month, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern confirmed that the State spend on accommodating 6,879 asylum seekers in 60 accommodation centres for the first six months of this year was €44.2m.
Mr Ahern also confirmed that the spend by the Government in the area of asylum seeker accommodation amounted to €337.6m between 2005 and 2008.
The new accounts for Bridgestock show its workforce grew by nine during the year, bringing the total headcount to 163, while employment costs rose by 45pc to €3.2m.
- Gordon Deegan
