MCD boss Denis Desmond shares in €17.3m dividend
LN Gaiety Holdings — the joint venture between international promoter Live Nation and Mr Desmond’s Gaiety Investments vehicle — has a 26% holding in UK live venue owner Academy Music Group (AMG).
Latest accounts for AMG show that it paid out £13.64m (€17.26m) in dividends last year.
Through his share in LN Gaiety Holdings, Mr Desmond — who also heads up MCD Productions here — is estimated to have received around €4.5m of that total.
Last year was a bumper one for AMG, with revenues increasing by 11% to £35.7m. Pre-tax profits increased marginally to nearly £6.1m.
AMG has been generous in the dividends paid to its owners over recent years, paying out £40.44m between 2011 and 2015. No dividend was paid out in 2014, while £17m was paid out in 2013.
Numbers employed by the group last year increased from 260 to 299, with staff costs increasing from £6.2m to £7m. The company’s balance sheet remains very strong, with accumulated profits of £25.86m and cash of £9.7m.
The profits last year take account of operating lease rentals of €2.2m and non-cash depreciation costs of £2.26m.
Academy Music is the leading owner and operator of live music venues in the UK through its stewardship of such venues as the Shepherd’s Bush O2 Empire and Brixton Academy in London.
Mr Desmond’s Irish MCD business is not required to file annual accounts as it has unlimited status.
