Dividends of nearly €5.5m were paid out by a subsidiary of Dunnes Stores during the financial year ending 31 January 2009. A similar dividend was paid the previous year. The consolidated accounts are related to the group's operations in Spain, property holdings in Ireland and "the manufacturing of foodstuffs" via meat-processing company Tender Meats and frozen-food manufacturer Newbridge Foods. "The group is also in receipt of licence-fee income and incurs landlord-related costs," the directors' report states.

Shareholders' funds stood at nearly €97.7m at the end of the financial year, up from €91.35m the previous year. Consolidated accounts of Dunnes Stores (George's Street) for the year ended 31 January 2009 show pre-tax profits were €14.2m, a slight decline from the €14.6m recorded the previous year.

The directors of Dunnes Stores (Georges Street) are Frank Dunne and Margaret Heffernan with Brian Daly and Tom Sheridan their nominated alternates.

The consolidated accounts were filed through its Tender Meats subsidiary and details were first reported in Retail Intelligence. The number of employees fell from 446 to 350 the accounts state but despite that the wage bill, inclusive of directors' salaries, remained relatively static at €10.46m, down from €10.67m.

The company holds preferred shares worth €800,000 in Banco Popular Espanol, the accounts state.

Meanwhile, the Marshalsea Property Company will seek tomorrow to have High Court proceedings against Dunnes Stores admitted to the Commercial Court. Marshalsea is developing a retail scheme in Naas which is to be anchored by Dunnes.

Dunnes is the number two player in the Republic of Ireland's grocery market, with the latest quarterly figures from Kantar Worldpanel showing it is almost three percentage points behind Tesco.