Profits take a tumble at AP McCoy’s firm
CHAMPION jockey AP McCoy’s retirement has started to hit profits at his management firm.
In abbreviated company accounts for 2016 filed in recent days, accumulated profits at AP Enterprises fell by £700,000 to £1.5m from £2.2m the previous year.
The accounts — which cover the period up to May 2016 and were approved by the board last month — show that debt fell sharply from £970,165 in 2015 to just £181,310 last year.
The firm also has investments in a Bulgarian-based property company — Burke & McCoy EOOD — controlled by McCoy’s wife, Chanelle Burke.
The investments in Bulgarian property are valued at £32,958, down from £109,377 the previous year.
Since his retirement, McCoy has not let the grass grow under his feet, however. He has become a popular after-dinner speaker, commanding fees of €10,000 to €20,000 per engagement. He is also a racing pundit on ITV, which secured an exclusive four-year deal to show UK horse racing on free-toair UK terrestrial channels from this year.
The 20-time champion jockey from Co Antrim retired in 2015 after an illustrious career in the sport. During his career he won virtually every major race including two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Champion Hurdles and the Grand National.
In 2010, the Moneyglass legend was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
A statue of the record-breaking jockey will be unveiled on the opening day of this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
The life-size bronze, crafted by Dublin-based sculptor Paul Ferriter will be unveiled on March 14.
Meanwhile, McCoy’s wife is also about to become a screen star in her own right as she will be the new dragon on RTE’s Dragons’ Den.
Burke is a multi-millionaire company director of Ireland’s largest home-grown pharma giant, Chanelle Pharmaceuticals.
The Galway-headquartered firm was founded in 1985 and employs 375 people in Ireland, the UK, Jordan and India. It is now recruiting an extra 175 jobs as part of a €70m investment and expansion drive.
In company accounts signed-off last month, company revenues in 2016 soared to €40.5m from €16.6m the previous year.
Profits for the year amounted to €1.3m and the firm paid out a whopping dividend of €14.5m.
Burke, daughter of industry giant Michael Burke, has been married to AP for 11 years.
The mother of two is set to replace dragon Eamonn Quinn, son of Feargal Quinn, who cannot take part on the hit RTE show due to a conflict in schedules.