A car park company chaired by financier Derek Quinlan increased its pretax profit by almost 70 per cent last year to €724,954, according to newly filed accounts. Park Rite Ltd is the biggest operator of public car parks in the State, with some 25,000 parking spaces in Dublin, Galway and Kerry.
The car park business is considered highly attractive because of the tax relief that is available for developers of parking schemes. In spite of the increase in profits last year, Park Rite paid out no dividends. It paid dividends of €1 million in 2003.
Mr Quinlan's vehicle Quinlan Private - one of the biggest investment houses in the State - is believed to have taken control of Park Rite Ltd in the late 1990s. Mr Quinlan has a significant stake in the business, along with a number of other private investors.
In business since 1975, the company owns some of the most prominent parking facilities in central Dublin. Its interests include the Parnell Centre and Dawson car parks, and parking facilities at Arnott's department store; the Irish Life Centre; Drury Street; the IFSC; Christchurch; Temple Bar; Tallaght Hospital; the Blackrock Clinic; the Dundrum Town Centre; the Pavilion Centre in Dún Laoghaire; and the Pavilions centre in Swords.
The accounts now with the Companies Office show that Park Rite's turnover rose last year to €2.61 million from €1.41 million. With administrative expenses rising to €1.88 million from €980,000, the company's operating profit rose to €733,514 from €430,595. Park Rite paid €8,560 in interest and similar charges and paid taxes of €92,392, bringing its retained profit for the year to €632,562. Its retained profit at the end of 2004 was €668,959.
According to the accounts, the company's ultimate parent undertaking it is Tazbell Ltd. The latest available annual returns for Tazbell show that half of its shares are held by an investment holding company called Pilbrow Ltd, whose shareholders are Mr Quinlan and his associates Thomas Dowd and Peter Donnelly. The other half of Tazbell is held by John Gordon, Dan Morrissey and Gráinne Kelleher and in the names of Mr Quinlan, Mr Dowd and Mr Donnelly.
The directors' report with the Park Rite accounts says that "the company will continue to trade in the same manner as heretofore". Park Rite owed €46,873 to Tazbell at the end of the year and bought group tax relief worth €14,786 from that company during 2004. At the end of 2004, Park Rite owed €445,695 to another Tazbell subsidiary, Dublin Street Parking Services.
Mr Quinlan charged Park Rite €22,250 for professional services in 2004. The accounts also say Park Rite agreed in 2001 to pay Mr Quinlan €1.27 million for "certain rights entitling the company to receipt of management fee income arising from existing agreements between certain car park partnerships and Mr D.M. Quinlan".
