A go-to travel firm for celebrities and the rich who want to spend a holiday in Ireland, Adams & Butler previously helped curate a low-key honeymoon here for the then-newly wed Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
New accounts for the Dublin-based firm show that the post-tax profits of €600,153 for the 12 months to the end of October last was a 37pc increase on the profits of €427,078 for the prior year.
In terms of the €200,000 holiday for the two couples, Siobhan Byrne, founder and CEO of Adams & Butler, said they stayed in The Merrion Hotel in Dublin, Ashford Castle in Mayo, and Glenlo Abbey in Galway. They also visited the Aran Islands and had some private musical and food tours.
Ms Byrne said that her company had also “arranged some private visits in London” for the couples, “and they experienced the Belmond le Manoir property in Oxfordshire and the Belmond train in Scotland”.
“We are getting more and more requests for exclusive-use properties, not only in Ireland but worldwide,” Ms Byrne said.
“Cruises are also becoming more popular. Over 90pc of our clients request private tours and visits when they travel with us worldwide.”
In terms of how the holiday season had been in 2024, Ms Byrne said: “Business is going well and a lot of people in the industry have recognised that the surge post-Covid has now levelled off.
“There has been a trend for shorter lead-in times, with some people booking trips with only a few days’ notice.
“Within Ireland and the UK, our privileged access to private places and people allows us to attract a very prestigious clientele.”
Ms Byrne said the African side of the business is also increasing enormously, “and we are confident that we are the number one African specialist in Ireland”.
The company moved office last year into a Dublin city centre location “and has taken on four additional new staff”.
At the end of October, accumulated profits at Adams & Butler totalled €1.179m. The company’s cash funds increased from €1.68m to €2.12m.
The profits in the prior year took account of other operating income of €308,417 and included a Fáilte Ireland grant of €152,574 and other grants. No such grants were recorded last year. Numbers employed rose to 14 in 2023.