Power sells Mean Fiddler shares

VINCE POWER, the Waterford-born businessman, has netted nearly €18 million from the sale of his entire stake in the Mean Fiddler Music group.

The company, one of the biggest owners of live music venues and concert promoters in Britain, was built up by Mr Power over 23 years. He is stepping down as chairman, but will remain on as a non-executive director and will oversee its music festivals division.

The sale of his 35% stake came as the company announced that it was acquiring Media Internet Telecom, a British company involved in online music sales, for €8.2 million.

The sale of Mr Power’s stake caps a remarkable career with the company he founded.

Mr Power moved to England in the early 1960s to work in a Woolworths branch in Hemel Hempstead. He later set up a business running a secondhand furniture store. He built this up into a chain of 12 shops across North London and only sold these 12 years ago.

In 1981 he opened the Mean Fiddler Club, attracting top rock bands to the club and earning himself millions. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s new venues were opened and the group now has 15 venues in London, ranging from the Jazz Café to the Astoria.

In addition to this the company has also become involved in promoting concerts and outdoor music Festivals. It was responsible for organising the British and European tours of Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Usher and the rapper Eminem in the past couple of years.

Last year, the prospect of Mean Fiddler merging with its Irish rival - MCD Productions - was raised after Mr Power sold a 16% stake to MCD’s owner Denis Desmond (netting €6.6m for his own wallet in the process).

Mr Desmond has increased his stake in the company to 24% and joined the board, though it is not known at this stage whether he acquired any of the 35 million Mean Fiddler shares that were placed by brokers yesterday.

The retirement has surprised many in the industry as only weeks ago Mr Power, aged 57, had been announcing future plans for the company. “The concept of retiring is like lying down to die. It’s just not what I’m about,” he said recently.

Apart from Mean Fiddler, he is involved in a number of businesses in Ireland, including the Beat FM commercial radio station and owns Tramore racecourse. He is estimated to be worth some €60 million.

Mean Fiddler released interim results for the six months to end June yesterday, which showed pre-tax losses rescued from €4.8 million to €2.3 million. Turnover was 35% ahead at €29 million.

Shares in Mean Fiddler, listed on the London stock exchange, jumped by 10% on the acquisition news yesterday.