Too Many UK Promoters

One in four companies in the UK concert promoting business could change ownership as a result of the current economic climate, according to financial analysts Plimsoll.

Report author David Pattison believes “there are simply too many companies chasing too little market”, which makes it a buyers’ market for the cash rich.

“Plimsoll Industry Analysis – Concert Promoters,” which follows earlier in-depth Plimsoll reports on such things as toner cartridge recycling, coffee machines, air purification equipment and abattoirs, was compiled after Pattison studied the “the health, wealth and prospects” of 46 companies in the UK concert promoting business.

The report aims to alert the industry regarding any acquisition or merger activity in the market by individually assessing each of the companies in its own two-page spread.

The 46 companies include Academy Music Group, Live Nation (Music) UK Ltd., The Agency Group, Asgard, Festival Republic, Flying Music and Solo.

Learning more about how they all stand will cost between euro 850 ($1,264) and euro 1,000 ($1,487), depending on the purchaser’s choice of format.

It’s not known how long the research took but Midland Concert Promotions Group Ltd. was another firm to come under the Plimsoll microscope, although the Walsall-based company – whose founder Maurice Jones died November 9 – was swallowed up by SFX in ’99 and then disappeared under the Clear Channel Entertainment umbrella when the US company closed the Walsall office at the end of 2001.

The two-page spread includes a company valuation, full financial health assessment, breakdown of the board members and ownership structure, a “10 point takeover attractive rating” and a “future year” projecting what the company could be worth to a new owner.

The report promises a breakdown of which companies are set to be buying and which are exposed to takeover.

Pattison says the analysis has identified 20 companies that have a sizeable cash reserve sitting on their balance sheets that, due to record low interest rates, is generating nothing.

He says these companies are now in the position to buy up large chunks of market share at rock-bottom prices and make that money work for them.

He describes them as being “like kids in a sweet shop” with so many distressed competitors available at a fraction of their true value.