A number of Press Up group restaurants and venues recorded six-figure losses in the year before London-based lender Cheyne Capital took over the group from co-founder Paddy McKillen jnr.
Cheyne Capital, a long-standing finance partner of Press Up, which has since rebranded the chain as Eclective, took control of the hospitality group as part of a debt-for-equity swap in September 2024.
The group, run by McKillen jnr and Matt Ryan, had set up many hospitality businesses in Dublin, including the Stella Cinema in Rathmines, a chain of Wowburger restaurants and several cocktail bars.
New financial filings for the entity behind the Stella Cinema in Rathmines, which cover the year to the end of May 2024, show it made a €752,000 after-tax loss immediately before Cheyne’s takeover.
Press Up group’s Wowburger, Captain Americas and Wagamama restaurants in Blanchardstown also recorded a €343,000 loss.
Filings for The Grayson, a restaurant set up by McKillen jnr at 41 St Stephen’s Green, swung into the black during the same financial year to record a €260,000 after-tax profit.
As part of the takeover Cheyne Capital installed Patrick Sheehan as chief restructuring officer of the hospitality group. Ronnie Delany, a long-time business associate of the McKillen family, was left in place as a director of firms that controlled Press Up venues.
In the past two years, directors Sheehan and Delany have signed off on financial accounts for a number of former Press Up venues that had not published accounts for several years.
The latest filings for Valamar Limited, a firm connected to the Stella Cinema in Rathmines, show it went from a €335,000 profit to a €752,000 loss in the 12-month period immediately before the takeover, which pushed accumulated losses at the company up to €3.6 million.
The company recorded net liabilities of €7.3 million and had just €16,000 cash at bank at the end of May 2024.
Annual losses eased during the year at Rabac Limited, the company behind the Blanchardstown venues, from €1.9 million to €343,000, but the firm that recorded €50,000 cash at bank saw its net liabilities rise from €1.1 million to €1.4 million. The Wagamama venue in Blanchardstown closed in September 2024 at the time of the restructuring.
During the same year, the financial position of Molana Limited, which controlled The Grayson restaurant, improved following the €260,000 profit. The company, which sat on accumulated losses of €159,000 at year end, also recorded a decline in net liabilities from €1.1 million to €1 million.
Cheyne Capital formally completed its takeover of Press Up in September 2024 in a deal that valued its controlling stake at €25 million. At the time, The Currency business website reported that Cheyne was owed €45 million by Press Up.
Following the deal, McKillen jnr and Ryan stepped down from the management of the business, but McKillen jnr has remained a minority shareholder.
Earlier this year, McKillen jnr bought back the businesses that trade as Workman’s Club and Bison Bar for an undisclosed fee from Eclective. Following the deal, it emerged he owns a number of buildings surrounding the pub on Wellington Quay and in Temple Bar.
McKillen jnr’s deal to buy back Workman’s Club came as he faced a bankruptcy summons, the first step in bankruptcy proceedings, initiated by lender Herbert Street Finance over an alleged €2.1 million debt.
McKillen jnr denied the existence of any debt over €20,000 and sought to set aside the summons, but last week the High Court rejected his request.