The Luxembourg files: Goodman-linked companies report €173m in profits

Thirteen companies within Larry Goodman’s business empire reported combined profits of almost €172m last year. Accounts seen by the Irish Farmers Journal reveal 13 companies closely connected to Larry Goodman reported profits of €171.6m last year, while at the same time paying out dividends of more than €50.6m to parent companies.

The accounts also show Larry Goodman’s enormous business and investment empire has exceeded €4.5bn in value. For context, Glanbia plc is valued at just €3.2bn, while Irish banks AIB and Bank of Ireland are valued at €3bn and €1.8bn respectively.

Of the 13 companies connected to Goodman, five key businesses are based in Luxembourg. These include Silverbirch, KH Holdings, Parlesse, Aburg and Ashtree Investments. Between them, these five companies have assets of €2.9bn and booked profits of €68m last year. The accumulated profits in these businesses stands at more than €585m.

It’s important to note that there’s nothing illegal in registering these companies in Luxemburg

The accounts show that these five companies based in Luxembourg made provisions for taxes of less than €192,000 in 2019, which would equate to an effective tax rate of only 0.3%, considerably less than the corporate tax rate in Ireland of 12.5%.

It’s important to note that there’s nothing illegal in registering these companies in Luxemburg. Up to recently, there was very little visibility into the corporate structure of the Goodman group.

Documents seen by the Irish Farmers Journal reveal a complex structure of privately owned companies closely linked to Larry Goodman and his ABP Group

However, changes within the group over the past number of years have partially lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding Goodman’s business operations.

Documents seen by the Irish Farmers Journal reveal a complex structure of privately owned companies closely linked to Larry Goodman and his ABP Group, which have no employees but provide financing and loans to subsidiary companies within the Goodman group and are located in countries like Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK, the island of Jersey and Liechtenstein.

The five companies located in Luxembourg in particular allow for some visibility into the corporate structure above the ABP Group and the profitability of Goodman’s investments.

What is the Goodman group?

Larry Goodman’s business empire has grown far beyond its roots in beef processing. Today, Goodman is listed as a director in hundreds of mostly privately held companies. However, the Goodman company of most interest to farmers is the ABP Food Group, which has grown to become one of the largest meat companies in Europe, with processing operations in Ireland, the UK and Poland.

ABP controls about 20% of the Irish cattle kill, processing around 300,000 cattle per annum. In the UK, ABP controls about 15% of the cattle kill, processing around 400,000 head. In recent years, ABP acquired a 50% shareholding in Slaney Foods and has also taken a 50% stake in NI meat processor Linden Foods.

In 2019, Larry Goodman took full control of C&D Foods, a €500m turnover pet food business and the largest private-label pet food manufacturer in Europe

ABP has also taken full control of Good Herdsmen, Ireland’s largest organic meat processor.

In 2019, Larry Goodman took full control of C&D Foods, a €500m turnover pet food business and the largest private-label pet food manufacturer in Europe, with operations in Ireland, the UK, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain.

The Louth man also has significant investments in healthcare. In recent months, Goodman has moved to take sole control of the three private hospitals he is a shareholder in, namely Blackrock Clinic, the Hermitage hospital and the Galway clinic.

Last year, Goodman took 100% ownership of the Galway clinic and in recent months he has tightened his grip on Blackrock Clinic and the Hermitage clinic by buying out some of his fellow shareholders to become the controlling investor in both private hospitals.

Outside of healthcare, Goodman also has significant property interests.