Superstruct Entertainment Ltd, the UK-arm of the global festival giant, has reported a 26% year-on-year rise in revenue.

The world’s second largest festival promoter, Superstruct’s global business owns more than a dozen major UK music festivals, many of which are members of the Association of Independent Festivals, as part of a portfolio of nearly 90 festivals across 10 countries.

According to a Companies House filing last week, Superstruct Entertainment Ltd generated £178.6 million in revenue for the year ending 31 December 2023, up from £141.9m the previous year. Ticket sales generated £118.8m, while F&B and merchandise sales amounted to £40.18m, and £10.33 million was attributed to sponsorship.

The company said 1.55 million people attended its festivals in 2023, up 14.4% from 1.36m in 2022. During the year, 46.6% of its revenue was generated by its UK operations, with 30.2% from elsewhere in Europe, and the remainder generated elsewhere.

Despite the huge lift in revenue, Superstruct reported an operating loss of £33.26m, compared to an operating profit of £6.67m the previous year. The loss was attributed to increased operating costs, and a hike in inflation, coupled with a £31.4m impairment charge “to reflect certain festivals which have not performed as expected.”

In June last year, Superstruct was acquired by investment giant KKR in a $1.4 billion deal. Launched by Creamfields festival (cap. 70,000) founder and former Live Nation exec James Barton and Roderik Schlosser in 2017, Superstruct expanded rapidly in recent years, buying up controlling stakes in UK festivals including Y Not (40,000), Bluedot (21,000), Victorious Festival (100,000), Tramlines (40,000), Boardmasters (50,000), NASS (15,000), South West Four (20,000) Truck (10,000) and Kendall Calling (25,000).

In January, Superstruct acquired UK-based electronic music streaming platform Boiler Room from ticketing platform DICE.

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