ONE of the country’s most exclusive restaurants, the Michelin-starred Thornton’s, owned and operated by celebrity chef Kevin Thornton, returned to profit last year.Abridged accounts just filed to the Companies Office by Conted Ltd, trading as Thornton’s Restaurant, show the 80-seater Dublin restaurant recorded an after-tax profit of €37,990 to the end of August last year, compared to a post tax loss of €17,354 in 2008.
In spite of the return to profit in a financial year which saw the closure of another Dublin-based Michelin-starred restaurant, Mint, Conted Ltd had total net liabilities of €52,590 at the end of August last year.
As a result, in a note to the accounts, Conted Ltd’s directors, Kevin Thornton and his wife, Muriel state they have "considered the uncertainty in the current economic and financial environment and are confident that the company will be in a position to trade through these difficult trading circumstances and continue to take appropriate steps to manage its business activities in this environment. The shareholders have indicated their willingness to continue to provide continued financial support".
The note adds: "In view of the foregoing, the directors are of the opinion that the accounts should be prepared on a going concern basis."
The company’s total net liabilities and the financial statements being prepared on a going concern basis also drew the attention of the firm’s auditors, Howarth Bastow Charlton.
As the accounts are abridged, they provide limited financial information and do not disclose turnover.
Thornton’s restaurant was first established in Portobello in 1995 before moving to its present location on St Stephen’s Green in 2002.
Cashel native, Kevin Thornton was the first Irish chef to receive the rare accolade of two Michelin stars and Thornton’s is today one of only six Irish restaurants to attain a Michelin star – Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin’s Merrion Square remains Ireland’s only two-star restaurant
