The Piper Group enters Receivership

Sully

As you may have heard, its officially confirmed that the businesses owned by Freddie Piper has gone into receivership. That's both of his arcades and the Sands Hotel Complex (which was already closed for sometime, briefly re-opening this summer) and The Pine Rooms Restaurant. I have spoken about this on WLRfm before it was officially confirmed, as per my position running the Discover Tramore Tourism Group. I released a statement following the official confirmation which I think sums up how I feel without repeating it all over again.

Following on from my earlier interview with Billy McCarthy on Wlrfm DeiseAM, I am deeply saddened with the news that Pipers Amusements, The Pine Rooms Restaurant and associated businesses have gone into receivership. The Piper Family and Freddie have been big employers in Tramore for generations and it is devastating that so many people may now have lost their jobs (over 50). Freddie is an absolute gent and a great supporter for local tourism and providing job.

The closure will see a huge impact on Tramore for both our local economy and for tourism. Freddie has been serving Tramore for years, with his family before him. It is a huge loss to Tramore and a sad day for the town and a devastating blow to Freddie and his family.

I can only hope that our local Councillors and TDs will pull together and raise the issue with the government - something needs to be done. Waterford City & County see very little job growth and it just seems to be continuing downwards. Rates, Insurance, Water Costs - they are all rising but consumer spending is understandably down. Something needs to give and action is needed.

We have many fantastic pubs, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, caravan parks, shops, entertainment centers, etc - Tramore is a town that offers so much all year around for everyone. Lets hope that action is taken so Tramore can pull itself up and not be at risk of further job losses.

queenm79

Utterly saddening. Freddies is a giant part of not just my childhood, but really my summer-time life, how can it not be there anymore? It's wrong.

realworld82

sad loss but gambling in property with your business as security was a very foolish move, it could work out for the best if new separate investors are found for the hotel and main arcade.

RobitTV

This is a huge blow for Tramore which at the moment is already struggling in ways.

I was saddened to hear about this news and this could bring serious consequences to the town. We all MUST start a disscusion here on how we go on from here.

The future of the town is now officially at stake unless we take action to improve growth in the town and sort out issues

lester76

Have been hearing the rumours for the last 2 yrs that freddie was in trouble,but never believed it,im shocked at how they went about taken the mans business from him.The suits came with there locksmith & with in 2 or 3 hours had all the locks changed on all this places.This will without question harm tramore i mean 50 staff not knowning will they have a job 2moro:mad: I know mr piper i know alot of his staff this could end DOWNAROUND its already on its knee's after the summer we just had & the 4 before it.. Hard hard times a coming:(

ex_infantry man

the flowrider and international standard skate park needs to be built, this will bring the crowds if international competitions came to tramore and put us back on the map

xperi

Freddy gambled on making it big , he lost end of story, although i have little sympathy for him he risked everything to make himself a property tycoon, all these people "saddned" at what happened makes me sick would freddy give a **** if i lost my house the answer would be no i think, he played high stakes & lost . feel more sorry for the staff that lost their jobs really,,,

Twoelles

Pipers and the Atlantic Palace are still open and running, just now under new management, not sure about the rest just have to wait and see what the receivers choose to do.

blankAs

behind every man there is a woman......

invara

Tramore needs people who believe in it and Freddie certainly showed he believed in the town. It must be a hugely stressful time for his employees, friends, family and himself. It is interesting to see the number of people who have had kind comments for him and the way he conducted himself. Hopefully he will pick him self up, dust himself down and like the town get back to work.

Rinkals

Who cares whether Freddie made mistakes or not... of course he did... like so many others along with him. Its still very sad for Tramore, all those who worked at Freddies, all those who used/visited Freddies and also for Freddie and his family. I would have serios concerns for the Flow Rider development... where are all the people going to come from to fill the place throughout the year... Celtworld!!!

Psychedelic

xperi wrote: »

Freddy gambled on making it big , he lost end of story, although i have little sympathy for him he risked everything to make himself a property tycoon, all these people "saddned" at what happened makes me sick would freddy give a **** if i lost my house the answer would be no i think, he played high stakes & lost . feel more sorry for the staff that lost their jobs really,,,

A totally unfair case of schadenfreude there. Why should he give a fcuk if you lost your house, he doesn't know you.

He's not some property tycoon who speculated on building housing estates in the middle of nowhere hoping to make millions, he has built up his businesses over the decades, investing huge amounts to do so, hoping to make a long term profit (absolutely nothing wrong with that) and ensure the sustainability of the businesses which have benefited the town for generations.

CantGetNoSleep

Have to laugh at the Councillor saying he will make representations at Cabinet level, good thing he has e-mail as the post from Wales could cost a bomb. I'm sure Phat Phil or whoever he contacts will let it go straight to spam anyway

wellboytoo

blankAs wrote: »

behind every man there is a woman......

What are you saying or not saying by that statement?

realworld82

Psychedelic wrote: »

A totally unfair case of schadenfreude there. Why should he give a fcuk if you lost your house, he doesn't know you.

He's not some property tycoon who speculated on building housing estates in the middle of nowhere hoping to make millions, he has built up his businesses over the decades, investing huge amounts to do so, hoping to make a long term profit (absolutely nothing wrong with that) and ensure the sustainability of the businesses which have benefited the town for generations.

eh this is the exact reason for his troubles, nothing to do with the business except for them being used as security to buy property

Psychedelic

realworld82 wrote: »

eh this is the exact reason for his troubles, nothing to do with the business except for them being used as security to buy property

Explain? Does he have lots of properties that are not businesses? Like villas in Spain or something?

xperi

i do know freddy but not personally, & i still dont give a shyte if he loses everything, which i dont think he has few euros stashed away somewhere i suspect, what about all the firms that are owed money from the building of the sands that were never paid & that was in the good times, as for tramore dying whose fault is that " the showmen" i suspect , as a local councillor once said about tramore " the tackiest town in ireland" no vision or imigination , tramores downfall is entirely its own fault.

ex_infantry man

lads have ye ever been to courtown harbour in co wexford??

xperi

yeah, beautiful place, why cant Tramore reinvent itself & turn it itself in to a resort that appeals to the upper end of the market instead of Ballyfermot dubs, bulldoze all the chippers & crappy amusements in to the sea,

SweetCaliber

xperi wrote: »

yeah, beautiful place, why cant Tramore reinvent itself & turn it itself in to a resort that appeals to the upper end of the market instead of Ballyfermot dubs, bulldoze all the chippers & crappy amusements in to the sea,

Sorry now, but the chippers and amusements are what's keeping the tourists in Tramore every summer. Get rid of them, considering the crappy summers to come, and there will be virtually no pull factor to Tramore.

Lack of funding is what's stopping Tramore from going further, but thanks to local organizations that are run voluntary, the town is slowly getting back on it's feet. Such as TidyTowns for example...

ex_infantry man

xperi wrote: »

yeah, beautiful place, why cant Tramore reinvent itself & turn it itself in to a resort that appeals to the upper end of the market instead of Ballyfermot dubs, bulldoze all the chippers & crappy amusements in to the sea,

beautiful place ya say!! did ya have your eyes closed while there or something?? did ya not see the empty apartment block owned by nama?? the bayview hotel thats just a shell of a building?? what tramore needs to do is get all the business heads together and start working together, reduce accomadation rates and give people value for money, the amusements and arcades should reduce the cost of there rides and attractions and maybe they'll actually fill the place again coz as it stands a day out in tramore would cost ya arm and leg with small family they need to start realising people are hard pressed and won't pay high prices

daddydick

xperi wrote: »

yeah, beautiful place, why cant Tramore reinvent itself & turn it itself in to a resort that appeals to the upper end of the market instead of Ballyfermot dubs, bulldoze all the chippers & crappy amusements in to the sea,

You're cleary a fantastic business man. If you could go about reinventing an entire town to turn it into a tourist resort you would be a very very rich man. But I suspect you're sitting on your hole somewhere procrastinating at other people's attempts to do some good in the town. Get a life.

scout353

Freddie built up his business over a number of years and the amusement arcade was fine.

However he overextended himself by buying other businesses like The Pine Rooms at the top of the market. He also bought multiple houses in the new developments as they were built like Carrigeenlea, Doneraile Woods, Bolster's place at the top of Newtown etc.

This is what caused his downfall! Is that greed? Perhaps.

But the bottom line is that another big business man has gone bust, many people who were employed by him are out of work and on a personal level it must be very difficult to see everything you've worked for (particularly the family business) disappear even if you are to blame yourself!

I always found Freddie to be an affable, genuine person and I hope he gets back to somewhere good in the future.

Sully

Discussions since Freddies went under has been interesting. There has been a lot of talk about the town being a 'ghost town' lately, buildings closed up, blaming it solely on the recession and so on. But what people seem to be forgetting is that the majority of this has been the case since well before the Celtic Tiger.

Tramore was never, at least not in my lifetime, a town that was booming during the winter. A lot of locals will say that come end of August / Mid-September its like Tramore 'switches off'. Some B&Bs close up for the winter period, the amusement park is closed, there is a lot less people about and its mostly locals and school groups about. Some people are suggesting that this is only since the recession and one person even went as far as suggesting that its since Freddies went under.

Likewise, I heard one person talk about the amount of buildings being closed around the town. A lot of them have been for years - well before the recession. Tramore Bay Hotel has been a ruin for years. The small little shop before The Seahorse, Danny's is a name that springs to mind, has been derelict for years. Dynasty Chinese across from the Sea Horse closed up this summer as the people who were leasing the building were going back to Hong Kong I believe - numerous Chinese restaurants that opened in Tramore over the years were short lived. There is also the small B&B, locally owned if I am not mistaken, which is sitting there unused for some years now also - pre-recession if I am not mistaken.

The Sands Hotel has been closed for what, over a year now? The chap that leased it from Freddie didn't keep it going and it wasn't taken over again until Julysh this year which was very brief. It closed some weeks before Freddies went into receivership and staff were told it was because there was some plumbing / sewerage issue. Numerous B&Bs have closed down over the years, pre-recession. The story can go on. A lot of Tramores 'problem areas' are pre-recession. People are trying to suggest Tramore can turn into an all-year-around booming holiday resort - I just cant see this happening and certainly not in one of the worst recessionary times.

You will find most tourist resorts have 'off peak' seasons where its much quieter. Tramore is a small seaside town with a lot to offer families. Families are now working and kids are back in school so these businesses will see a drop in demand. This has been the case for years. Unfortunately, the recession has had a huge impact on existing businesses ability to survive and this is where the council / government come in.

Rates, Water Charges, Refuse Charges, Fuel Charges, etc. are all on the increase, sharply, and consumer spending is down in a town that relies on a busy summer to keep it going all year around. We are now charging for parking on the promenade, yet the parking facilities are poor. Will local groups be sponsoring the re-surfacing for those? This is what is having a huge impact on businesses. Something needs to give. Tramore doesn't need multiple 'jack of all trades' groups setting up and trying to do the job of the council. Why should businesses pay rates which are to be directed at keeping Tramore tidy and looking good when Tramore Tidy Towns do that job, voluntary, for them? When private businesses have to sponsor flower gardens and roundabouts? It makes absolutely no sense and these rates just keep on rising.

Something needs to be done to address this problem. Its a local and national problem. I know times are tough and people keep pointing to the recession as our problem - but for the love of god, even in the good times we had a shortage of bins in the town, existing bins overflowing and not being emptied, toilets being closed and so on. Dungarvan seems to get a lot of funding while Tramore is nearly a second class town. Its a disgrace, simply put.

In relation to Freddie. The whole country partied in the good times for god sake. Extensions, big houses, big cars (adding a second car, just for the craic like) and so on. We went above and beyond our means thanks to the banks handing out cash like there was no tomorrow and a government who want to throw even more cash from the purse. Freddie has been providing jobs to the people of Tramore for years. I know people who worked in Freddies when they were growing up. I know people working in Freddies as their only source of income, and have been for years. Freddie might have used his cash a lot more in recent years but he wasn't alone. He kept the two arcades in great condition - inside and out.

A lot of people got ahead of themselves in the Celtic Tiger. That is partly why things are so bad now.

wellboytoo

I have said this before but... it works for my Wife so here goe's,
Tramore is following a tourist market that no longer exists, Tramore of the fifties sixties and even some of the seventies where you had a captive market who could not travel to Spain cheaply, but now the world is your oyster at the same or cheaper price than a week in Tramore.So Tramore has to make a choice of where it is going to get it's business from and change, or just become a dormitory town of Waterford .
It is as simple as that, but it will dribble on for years as it is a group of individuals who make handy bucks at what they are doing and don't really think about "up the town".
The proposed surf building is a move in the right direction IMO but we will wait and see can that be financed.
I live not to far from Tramore but only go there in the winter, for obvious reasons (to Me).

wellboytoo

be1con wrote: »

This is a joke, right? What fantastic pubs? What fantastic restaurants? What hotels are of any worthwhile standard? Tramore is a nothing and it always will be a nothing. You come on here like some self-appointed journalist or councillor, with your little references to appearing on radio, like you matter. What you'd love to be is a small time, corrupt politician, because christ knows you have the arrogance, bluster and bullshyte to go with it.

Fellas like you who join up and then don't say what you mean really p*ss me off

upthedeise12

Is it not his job as a Representative of local businesses or at the very least as a body promoting tourism? who gives a flying **** what party he belongs to as long as he helps raise awareness of the problems the twn faces?

upthedeise12

All I can say is, fair dues to freddie. Did this town proud. **** the begrudgers i say. We have a wonderfull town to be proud off and there is no doubting that me thinks. clear by the amount of people who visit this town every year for generations and the expansion of placesl ike the Sea horse and other restaurants who have improved like esquire and veee bistro.

also market st. restaurant re-opened.

****e restuarants me arse.

ex_infantry man

i said it before and i'll say it again reduce accomadation rates and people might just come here, @€;700 per week in summer for a smelly run down holiday home in pebble beach or a rotten mobile home in fitzmorris's caravan park is just daylight robbery, twas robbery back in the celtic tiger era and still is to this day thats where the problem lies, value for money not just take what ya can get from the tourists

Sully

B&Bs and Hotels are very competitive. I don't think its fair that they would need to drop their rates even further. As for the Holiday Homes - Pebble Beach has renovated the houses they let out. Their rates, along with Seafield Holiday Homes, start at €300 for up to 4 people. Beachside Apartments also start at €300. I'm not sure how that compares to the celtic tiger years tho.

I could be mistaken but its mostly Irish that tend to rent out houses.

ex_infantry man

Sully wrote: »

B&Bs and Hotels are very competitive. I don't think its fair that they would need to drop their rates even further. As for the Holiday Homes - Pebble Beach has renovated the houses they let out. Their rates, along with Seafield Holiday Homes, start at €300 for up to 4 people. Beachside Apartments also start at €300. I'm not sure how that compares to the celtic tiger years tho.

I could be mistaken but its mostly Irish that tend to rent out houses.

for the month of aug for a week back when i used do security in pebble beach twas €750 for weeks stay