VINCE POWER, the Waterford entrepreneur famous for founding the Mean Fiddler music festival business, has set up a new venture which he aims to float on London’s alternative stock market later this month, raising £6.5 million (€7.4 million).

Music Festivals is a newly formed company which will run Mr Power’s interests in the Hop Farm Music Festival in Kent and the Benicassim festival in Spain.

It is also about to stage the first London Feis Irish festival this weekend in Finsbury Park, featuring Van Morrison, the Cranberries, Shane McGowan, Bob Dylan and the Coronas.

The business will be floated on London’s junior stock market to raise funds to buy the rest of the shares in the three festivals it does not already own. It also plans to buy the rights to two new festivals – one classical and one pop – in the southeast of England.

The flotation will “give everyone a chance to own a piece of the live music industry”, a spokesman for Mr Power said.

In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange earlier this week, the company said it expected to be admitted to the market on June 28th, and to have a market capitalisation of about £2.8 million.

It is anticipated that its market capitalisation will rise to about £9.5 million following the admission of a second tranche of shares. Merchant Securities is advising the company on the listing.

As well as funding the acquisition of festivals, the net proceeds will also be used to expand and establish other festivals and to provide the company with general working capital.

Mr Power will retain a 23.36 per cent stake in the company.

The entrepreneur set up Mean Fiddler in 1982, which ran some of the most popular summer festivals and venues in London.

Mr Power sold his stake in the company to US media giant Clear Channel for £13 million in 2005.

– (PA)