THE owner of Warrington Wolves has seen his music concert promotion business record profits of £11.8million.
Simon Moran, originally from Woolston, bought The Wire in 2003 – but he also owns SJM.
The business works with some of the biggest and most well-known names in music, including Oasis and Coldplay.
Accounts documents have recently been published on Companies House for the year ending December 31, 2023, detailing the financial position of the business.
It paints a picture of a strong year for the firm, with another ‘successful’ year predicted, no doubt boosted by the reunion of Oasis for the band’s 2025 live tour.
Unprecedented demand saw tickets sell out within hours, with millions of people enduring frustrating waits in online queues to secure tickets.
The 2023 accounts filing, signed by Mr Moran, states: “The principal activity of the company continued to be that of live music concert promotion.
“Turnover rose to £286million (from £275million in 2022) in another very successful year of trading, with 1,845 shows promoted in 2023 compared to 2,160 in 2022.
“The volume of shows in 2023 was at the expected level after the exceptional number in 2022, due to the additional shows being rescheduled from 2020 and 2021 into 2022.
“The increased turnover reflects the higher number of larger capacity shows in 2023, and the reduction in gross profit margin from 10.4 per cent in 2022 to 8.8 per cent in 2023 reflects a change in sales mix.
“The company is reporting a £11.8million profit after tax, compared to £14.8million after tax in the prior period.
“We are continuing to observe strong demand for live music events and anticipate another successful year ahead, despite the inflationary pressures being experienced within the global economy.”
The document states that the six bosses, including Mr Moran, shared a total dividend of £14.83million for 2023 – up from £7.35million in the previous year ending 2022.
The company also made charitable donations totalling £351,000, up from £291,000 in 2022.
It adds: “The company has implemented management policies in recent years which have allowed the company to compete profitably within its market.
“Activity levels have returned to normal after the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the first half of 2021, and the directors are confident that this will continue going forward in 2024 and beyond.”
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