The company behind Dublin-based consumer goods distributor Tennant & Ruttle redeemed €3.4m in shares from former managing director Ray Woodroofe last year as he retired as a director from the business, newly-filed accounts for the business show.
ennant & Ruttle distributes a range of produces from confectionery to food and beverages, as well as household and healthcare goods.
It is also involved in direct field sales and marketing. Its roots date back to 1933.
The company was part of distribution group Allegro in 1999 when Tennant & Ruttle management, including Mr Woodroofe, bought out the business. That buyout also included current joint managing director Neil Keogh. Allegro had acquired the company in 1994 from James Crean.
Accounts for the company behind Tennant & Ruttle, Railford Investments, show that its turnover fell last year to €99.9m from €108.7m the year before.
The company said the decrease was the result of the non-renewal of a low margin contract.
Pre-tax profits at the firm were stable at €976,000.
Among the brands the firm distributes in Ireland are Hershey, KittenSoft, Calpol, Haribo, Johnson & Johnson, and Barilla.
Mr Woodroofe was the single largest shareholder in the company before he sold his holding at the end of last year, the accounts show.
But the accounts confirm that 350 redeemable ordinary shares in the company that were owned by Mr Woodroofe – his entire shareholding – were acquired by the company for €3.4m on the last day of December last year.
On the same day, Kevin Keating subscribed to 350 redeemable ordinary shares in the company. Mr Keating is now joint managing director of the firm alongside fellow shareholder Neil Keogh.
Railford Investments had redeemed €2.3m worth of shares in 2019, acquiring now former director Geoffrey Byrne’s redeemable shares in the business.
The latest set of accounts also show that a total of €435,000 in dividends was paid in 2020.
Of that, Mr Woodroofe received €201,000, net of withholding tax.
The three directors last year were paid a total of €1.1m including retirement benefit contributions. The total wage bill at the company, including that of directors, came to just over €4m last year. The company employed 82 people at the end of 2020, including the three directors.
Of Tennant & Ruttle’s turnover last year, €85.8m was generated in the Republic of Ireland and €14m in Northern Ireland.
“The company has not experienced a negative impact directly related to Covid due to the nature and mix of its product portfolio,” the directors note in the accounts.
“While the impact is still uncertain, the group has considerable financial resources available to it and has implemented necessary public health measures to safeguard the health of its workforce,” they add.
The accounts for 2020 show that Railford Investments had net assets of €8.2m at the end of the year, which was down from €11.2m a year earlier.
The accounts also show that at the end of last year, €3,000 in sugar tax was payable by the firm within one year.