Electric Picnic parent books £35.3m profit as live events rebound

A joint venture between Live Nation and promoter Denis Desmond’s Gaiety Investments paid out almost £8.8 million (€10.2 million) in dividends to related parties in 2023 after a year of growth and recovery in the live events industry in 2022.

LN-Gaiety Holdings, a UK-registered holding entity in the group of companies that operates Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co Laois, and Longitude at Marlay Park in Dublin among others, generated revenues in excess of £470 million in 2022, a more than 100 per cent increase on the previous year.

In a report attached to accounts filed in London, the directors of the 50-50 joint venture said the group hosted more than 4,696 shows in 2022, an increase of 142.8 per cent after the Covid-induced shutdown of the live entertainment industry ended. It admitted close to 9.5 million customers to its events and venues in the year, an increase of 189.7 per cent year on year.

After tax, group profits topped £35.3 million, up from £18.9 million in 2021, its second consecutive year of profitability after it lost more than £10 million in the first of the pandemic due to venue closures and public health restrictions.

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LN-Gaiety Holdings paid a dividend of almost £8.9 million to “non-controlling interests”, up from £4.8 million in 2021.

The directors also noted that the groups O2 Brixton Academy venue in south London was closed after a crush that “sadly resulted in serious injuries including two fatalities”. A premises licence was ultimately granted last September by Lambeth Council, they said, and management expects the venue to reopen “some time in the first quarter of 2024″.

The venue had its licence suspended for three months after the incident at a concert by Nigerian artist Asake.

Accounts filed last year revealed that Mr Desmond’s Gaiety Investments shared in a £15 million dividend payout from Festival Republic, the group behind Electric Picnic, which is ultimately owned by the LN-Gaiety Holdings joint venture.

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