Businessman, Paddy Cosgrave’s Web Summit group last year returned to profit after suffering a financial hit during Covid-19.
Accounts for 2021 accounts filed by Manders Terrace Ltd - which became available on Wednesday - show the group returned to profit after revenues last year increased by €14.45 million to €31.8 million during the year.
The group’s 2020 accounts, which became available only on Tuesday, showed the business sustained a €30.59 million drop in revenues in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19. The group’s 2020 revenues fell from €47.94 million to €17.35 million resulted in the business recording a pre-tax loss of €5.29 million in 2020.
The group’s 2020 revenues declined sharply after the Web Summit was unable to stage its flag-ship in-person Web Summit in Lisbon in 2020 due to Covid-19. It subsequently ran a virtual version of the conference in December 2020, attracting 104,000 people.
The principal activity of the group is developing software and organising events.
In 2021 accounts, the directors stated the firm has “continued to invest into the development of our software and tech to improve our physical events as we return in person”.
“Web Summit returned stronger than expected in 2021 selling out to over 40,000 attendees, with numbers capped due to Covid-19 health and safety regulations.”
ChangeX
The 2020 pre-tax loss took account of an exceptional provision of €1 million that the Web Summit donated to ChangeX in 2020.
A note attached to the 2020 accounts, signed on October 31st last, describes ChangeX as an Irish founded platform that brings people together to work on initiatives for the public good. The note states: “ChangeX identified and funded a set of projects aimed at strengthening Ireland’s response to Covid-19”.
Despite the impact of Covid-19 on operations over 2020 and 2021, numbers employed by the group continued to rise across the two years increasing from 225 at the start of 2020 to 246 at the end of last year.
Staff costs last year increased from €12.68 million to €13.43 million.
Directors’ pay increased almost fourfold from €551,212 to €2.15 million last year and the large hike follows the appointment of Nida Shah, Nathan Hubbard, Peter Gilmer and Michael Sexton to the board last year.
The group benefited from ‘other operating income’ of €712,514 in 2020 and €1.13 million in 2021.
Separately, published Revenue Commissioners’ statistics show that Manders Terrace subsidiary, Web Summit Services Ltd, availed of Government Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme payments in 2020 and 2021.
Legal dispute
The Web Summit conference was founded by Paddy Cosgrave, Daire Hickey and David Kelly in Dublin in 2009, with 150 attendees at the inaugural event. Mr Kelly resigned as a director in April 2021. Mr Hickey resigned as director in August 2019.
A high profile legal wrangle involving Mr Cosgrave - who owns 81pc of the business - and his former colleagues, Mr Hickey and Mr Kelly has yet to be determined across several court actions.
The 2021 accounts - signed off on June 7th - state under the heading of ‘legal costs’ that “from time to time, the group is involved in claims and legal actions arising during the normal course of business and/or otherwise”.
The note states: “Based on the information currently available and legal advice, the directors believe such litigation will not, individually or in aggregate, have a materially adverse effect on the financial statements and that the group is adequately positioned to deal with the outcome of any such litigation."
The web summit relocated to Lisbon in 2016 under a 10-year deal with the Portuguese government.
