Acquisition of prominent music venues in Brighton
12 March 2025
All Things Considered Group plc
("ATC", the "Company" or the "Group")
Acquisition of prominent music venues in Brighton
ATC builds stake in music venue ownership, bolstering reach across live events value chain
The Board of All Things Considered Group plc (AQSE: ATC), the independent music company housing talent management, live booking, merchandising, talent services and events, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in Brighton-based music venue, Concorde 2, along with the acquisition of an additional Brighton-based venue, Volks, and associated festival amenities company (the "Acquisitions").
Highlights
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ATC via its subsidiary, Joy Entertainment Group Ltd ("Joy"), increases ownership of live music venue, Concorde 2, to 80% and acquires full ownership of amenities operations entity, JTR Productions Ltd ("JTR"), for a total cash consideration of c£2.49m. |
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Separately, Joy acquires 60% of Brighton-based late-night venue, Volks for c£400k cash. |
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The Acquisitions enhance the Group's cross-selling potential, strengthening ATC's ability to offer end-to-end service delivery to artists across an increasing range of creative and commercial needs. |
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By joining ATC's full-services platform, Concorde 2 and Volks will gain access to music industry intelligence from ATC's other service touch points to drive growth synergies aligned to market demand. |
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Strong cultural alignment and industry fit. |
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Venue ownership and operations brings new revenue stream to ATC, enhancing well-balanced services portfolio through music industry cycles. |
Background and rationale
Concorde 2 is a landmark, industry-recognised mid-sized live music venue in Brighton, particularly well known for 'destination underplay' performances from leading artists. The venue hosts 150 live music events and 120 club nights a year, with average footfall having grown year-on-year to c150k in 2024.
Volks is one of the longest running late night venues in Brighton with a strong focus on drum and bass music. It is situated close to the Concorde 2 venue on Brighton seafront and the combined ownership of both venues offers opportunities for cross selling between the venues.
The JTR business provides bar and associated services for a number of festivals, including 'On the Beach' in Brighton (80,000 capacity across two weekends of events each year) and 'Pride in the Park' as part of Brighton Pride Festival (50,000 capacity).
The Acquisitions follow the acquisition of a 50% stake in Joy (previously Mckeown Asset Limited) in February 2024 through which ATC gained an initial minority stake in Concorde 2 which extended the Group's reach into venue assets. The increased ownership of Concorde 2, together with Volks, means that the Group's foothold in the live venue and festival space is now further strengthened, and will enable ATC to leverage industry insights from its wide range of services and touch points across the music value chain to drive intelligent, data-led live bookings aligned to consumer demand.
The Acquisitions have been funded via a loan made to Joy from an industry partner for which the Company has entered into a parent company guarantee.
Adam Driscoll, CEO of ATC Group plc, commented: "Live events remain a crucial part of the music industry, and by expanding our Live Events and Experiences segment through Concorde 2 and Volks, we have reinforced our presence in this space. Importantly, it aligns with our ambition to provide a fully integrated service, supporting artists across every aspect of their careers, and enhances our extensive music services platform to create a better connection between the artist and the fan.
"We are delighted to be working with the teams at Concorde 2 and Volks who bring a wealth of experience of operating independent venues and who share our values and ethos of preserving and supporting independent music venues. With their established reputations in prime locations, both venues are well positioned to contribute meaningfully to the Group's future growth"
Related Party Transaction
The Acquisitions involve the acquisition of 80% of Concorde 2 Limited, which owns Concorde 2, and 100% of JTR Productions Limited. 23.5% of the shares in Concorde 2 Limited and 25% of the shares in JTR Productions Limited are being acquired from Christina Haynes who was a director of JTR Productions Ltd, a subsidiary undertaking of Joy. As such, the transaction constitutes a related party transaction pursuant to the AQSE Growth Market Apex Rulebook. The Directors of the Company, having exercised reasonable care, skill and diligence, consider that the related party transaction is fair and reasonable as far as the shareholders of the Company are concerned.
Based on unaudited management accounts, the gross assets of Concorde 2 Limited as at 31 December 2024 were c.£640k and profits before tax for the year to 31 December 2024 were c.£240k. The gross assets of JTR Productions Limited as at 31 December 2024 were c.£40k and profits before tax for the year to 31 December 2024 were c.£150k.
Contacts:
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ATC Group Adam Driscoll, CEO Deborah Lovegrove, CFO
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Via Alma |
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Allenby Capital Limited - AQSE Corporate Adviser and Broker Jeremy Porter/Piers Shimwell/Ashur Joseph - Corporate Finance Matt Butlin - Equity Sales & Corporate Broking
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+44(0)20 3328 5656 |
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Alma Strategic Communications - Financial PR Hilary Buchanan/Justine James/Will Merison |
+44(0)20 3405 0205 |
Notes to Editors
ATC Group is an independent music business company operating internationally with strong business focus in the key commercial areas of music artist's business. The Group encompasses direct artist representation in the form of management and live representation, merchandising, music promotion, livestreaming and a range of other music services. The Group is headquartered in London, with offices in the key industry hubs of Los Angeles and New York, and also in Europe.
The Group's key businesses are structured into segments that reflect the growing range of the Group's activities:
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Artist Representation (ATC Management, Raw Power Management, ATC Live) |
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Services - including merchandising and e-commerce, promotion, placement and technology solutions (Sandbag, Circa, Driift) |
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Live Events and Experiences - including ticketing and livestreaming (ATC Experience, Joy Entertainment Group) |
For more information see: www.atcgroupplc.com
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