Concert promoter Denis Desmond shares in £2.8m dividend from Festival Republic

Pre-tax profits increase by 57 per cent to £7.78 million

Concert promoter Denis Desmond shared in a dividend payout of £2.8 million (€3.23 million) from his Festival Republic UK business last year.

Accounts lodged with the Companies House in the UK show that the Live Nation-controlled Festival Republic Ltd made the payout after pre-tax profits increased by 57 per cent to £7.78 million.

Revenues increased by 20 per cent to £55.2 million. Mr Desmond’s Gaiety Investments has a 49.9 per cent share in Festival Republic with Live Nation owning the remaining shares.

The dividend payout last year followed combined dividends of £46 million paid out between 2011 and 2017.

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Festival Republic stages the Reading, Leeds and Wireless festivals in the UK each summer and acts due to perform iStormzy, Kings of Leon and Kendrick Lamar.

The directors’ report shows that the increase in revenue is due to the staging of two additional shows in 2018.

Festival Republic’s accumulated profits last year increased to £12.9 million, while its cash pile increased to £3.9 million.

The remuneration for one unidentified director at Festival Republic totalled £983,156 last year.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times