THE Derry company behind some of Belfast’s best known pubs returned to profit last year.
HJ Downey Ltd is owned by Derry’s former all-Ireland winning captain Henry and his brothers Seamus and John.
New accounts for the Lavey-based group showed it recovered from a £497,000 loss in 2017 to post an operating profit of £1.26 million in the 12 months to November 30 2018.
The swing back to profit followed a £2m surge in the company turnover from £7.3m to £9.3m.
The family enterprise owns McHugh’s, Hellcat Maggies, The Kitchen Bar and 21 Social in Belfast.
It expanded the 21 Social site in the Cathedral Quarter during late 2017 by opening The Thirsty Goat.
HJ Downey is also behind a series of venues in Derry, including Metro and a second Thirsty Goat pub in Derry City as well as Downey’s Bar in Magherafelt.
The operation also includes a residential property rental business.
The brothers previously ran the former Café Roc and Earth nightclub on Strand Road in Derry. Another family-owned company, Edenkeel Ltd, was granted planning permission to build flats on the site in 2017.
The site was later put up for sale. In September, another developer, TVL Properties, lodged a planning application to build 27 apartments.
It’s understood the flats have been designed for older people.
The latest accounts filed by HJ Downey, show it employed an average of 116 people during 2018, some 16 more than in 2017. Staff costs for 2018 totalled £2m, the bulk of which was made up by wages.
The Downey’s entry into the drinks trade followed the acquisition of a small pub in Maghera during the mid-90s. They later bought a bigger pub in Magherafelt and rebranded it with the family name.
They entered the Belfast scene in dramatic fashion in 2013 when they bought a portfolio of seven pubs previously operated by Botanic Inns for £4.3.
Four of the pubs were quickly sold on, with the Downey’s retaining McHugh’s, the Apartment and the Kitchen. In the last six years, HJ Downey has continued to develop its Belfast portfolio, rebranding The Apartment as Hellcat Maggies, and opening the Thirsty Goat and 21 Social in the Cathedral Quarter.
