Aiken survives Brooks fiasco to record profit in UK

This year may be one that Aiken Promotions will want to forget about quickly, what with the Garth Brooks concerts debacle, but new figures show its UK arm recorded profits of over €230,000 last year.

Accounts just filed by Aiken Promotions Ltd to Companies House in the UK show the firm boosted its fortunes by £183,793 (€232,472) in the 12 months to the end of January 2014.

The firm’s accumulated profits last year increased from £1.09m to £1.27m while its cash pile reduced from £6m to £4m.

2014 was on course to be the firm’s best ever year, with 400,000 fans paying over €27m to see Garth Brooks at Croke Park.

However with the concerts not proceeding, managing director Peter Aiken said during the year that the cost to Aiken Promotions of cancelling the five gigs would run into “seven figures”.

Country music star Brooks said this week that he is still mourning the Croke Park concerts and compared the gigs’ cancellation to losing a member of his family.

The performance of the Aiken Promotions’ Irish business are off limits as the firm has unlimited status here and is not required to file annual accounts.

However, an auditor’s report recently filed with the Companies Office does confirm that the firm recorded a profit here last year.