FY24 Trading and Corporate Update
Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Group to constitute inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.
10 February 2025
All Things Considered Group plc
("ATC", the "Company" or the "Group")
FY24 Trading and Corporate Update
Year of rapid scaling with doubling of Group revenue and delivery of EBITDA profitability,
validating growth strategy
All Things Considered Group plc (AQSE: ATC), the independent music company housing talent management, live booking, merchandising, talent services and events, is pleased to provide an update on trading for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 ("FY24"). The trading performance reported in this statement is based on unaudited management accounts.
Highlights
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Excellent FY24 financial performance with 100% growth in Group revenue to circa £50m (FY23: £24.1m) and profitability milestone surpassed with adjusted operating EBITDA¹ anticipated to be approximately £1.5m (FY23: loss of £0.46m). |
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Performance driven by continued organic growth from the successful integration of new managers, agents and artist clients, as well as contributions from strategic acquisitions which have materially enhanced the Group's value proposition. |
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Strong growth across all Group segments, demonstrating broad appeal of unique full-service model aligned to structural market trends. |
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To better reflect the Group's diverse range of services and clients, the Group has launched its new website, found at its current URL, www.atcgroupplc.com. |
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Solid foundation established for continued organic growth from ongoing development of the Group's 'Integrated Artist Services' strategy and complemented by large and visible strategic acquisition pipeline for FY25 and beyond. |
FY24 trading update
FY24 was a very strong year of growth, with Group revenues expected to have more than doubled to circa £50m (FY23: £24.1m), together with a transition to positive adjusted operating EBITDA¹ which is expected to be circa £1.5m (FY23: loss of £0.46m).
ATC continues to have its artist representation at the core of its business. As the broader music sector pivots towards empowering artists to take control of their own rights, ATC is perfectly positioned to offer its artists a fully integrated service offering in partnership with artists at all stages of their career. The Group was pleased to welcome a significant number of new artists to the client base in the year, with c.860 unique clients now working with ATC across c.1,080 business engagements, demonstrating the continuing trend of artists expanding their engagement across additional service offerings. In recognising that artists have a host of delivery partners to choose from, ATC is driving a 'best-in-class' service across all of its businesses. ATC's breadth of engagement across key music business functions enables the Group to present and deliver long term strategic benefits to artists, bringing forward the best solutions tailored to their creative and economic interests.
FY24 performance was underpinned by growth in all Group service divisions, demonstrating the broad appeal for the Group's innovative, full-service talent offering, which enables closer collaboration with artist clients across multiple services. Segment performance highlights include:
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Artist Representation performing ahead of management expectations. |
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Strong double-digit growth in ATC Management following the addition of new managers and clients, complemented by M&A. |
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ATC Live had a substantial year of growth as a result of robust live touring activity and reflecting strong consumer demand for live events. |
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Services grew materially following the acquisition of Sandbag in FY23 which added a foundational merchandising offering to the Group. The Group is seeing growing uptake of this service from clients in other parts of its business in line with 'Direct-to-Fan' market trends. |
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Live Events and Experiences posted material revenue growth following the division's recent launch and the acquisition of a controlling interest in Joy Entertainment in February 2024, expanding the Group's reach into the venue and festival segment of the market. The launch of co-produced project 'Hamlet Hail to the Thief' alongside Radiohead and the Royal Shakespeare Company garnered huge press interest and high volumes of advance ticket sales for 2025 performances. |
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Continued organic momentum was enhanced through further strategic acquisitions in the year, bringing more complementary services to the Group and expanding scale and market reach within a fragmented landscape. The Group acquired 50 per cent. of McKeown Asset Management (now called Joy Entertainment Group ("Joy Entertainment")) in February and 55 per cent. of Raw Power Management in May. Joy Entertainment extended the Group's revenue streams into festival management, live music promotion and venue assets, while Raw Power further increased the number of artists in the Group's management orbit, including Bring Me the Horizon, headliners at Reading/Leeds festival in 2025, building upon a recent sold-out stadium show in Sao Paulo.
ATC now has 12 operating businesses in three core segments, aligning the Group to key growth segments of the market and giving it access to unrivalled market intelligence and data. This provides ATC with a strong competitive advantage as its breadth of touch points within the music value chain provides comprehensive insights that can be leveraged across service lines.
Outlook and strategy
Positive trading momentum has continued into the beginning of the new financial year. The growth of ATC's service offering and client base is driving a larger pipeline of opportunities, with a visible runway of events and festivals scheduled for 2025 and beyond.
The Group remains focussed on scaling the business by executing against its proven organic and acquisitive growth strategy. The Group has a growing reputation in the music industry driven by the wide range of services it provides and its integrated approach to artist management, covering everything from representation to live performance, online management, ticketing and merchandising. The Group deploys data analytics for a better connection between the artist and the fan, creating content for the fan to acquire and encouraging participation in events. The Group continues to evaluate complementary acquisitions in line with its disciplined approach focused on adding new tangential services within the music value chain and/or bringing new artists to the client base.
Potential move to the London Stock Exchange
In light of the growth of the Group and increasing opportunities available, as well as in response to existing and potential shareholders' requests to improve share liquidity, the Board of ATC is considering moving the public quotation for trading in its shares to a market operated by the London Stock Exchange to support this. Consideration is at an early stage and further updates will be provided as appropriate.
Acquisition of remaining shareholding in Driift
Driift, a provider of end-to-end livestreaming capability - across show development, production, ticketing, streaming and distribution, sits within the Group's Services division and has, to date, been an associated company with the Group holding a 32.5% minority interest. ATC has agreed terms with the remaining shareholders in Driift to acquire 100% of Driift Holdings.
Adam Driscoll, Chief Executive Officer of ATC, commented: "This has been a year of material advancement for the Group, in line with our vision of building a full-service music business that delivers for artists across the music industry value chain.
"We are delighted to report an excellent trading performance for FY24, including the doubling of revenue from FY23 and the delivery of a meaningful uplift in adjusted operating EBITDA. Our strategy of building an integrated offering to artists is working, with a value proposition tailored to the unique needs of creators' businesses and which facilitates direct engagement between artists and fans.
"We have entered the new year with the building blocks in place and the scale to capitalise on a growing market opportunity. With a robust financial position, growing profitability and strong pipeline of visible activity, the Board is confident of delivering continued growth in the year ahead."
¹. Operating EBITDA is a non-statutory performance measure, as displayed in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, and is defined as the operating result before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment and before the share of results of associates and joint ventures. Adjusted for business combination costs, share-based payments and exceptional items.
Contacts:
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ATC Group Adam Driscoll, CEO Deborah Lovegrove, CFO
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Via Alma PR |
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Allenby Capital Limited - AQSE Corporate Adviser and Broker Jeremy Porter/Liz Kirchner - 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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