Festival Republic: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
Festival Republic Limited's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Uk Festival Holdings Limited. It holds 75% or more of the company. In the year to December 2024 Festival Republic Limited reported turnover of £83m.
- Registered name
- FESTIVAL REPUBLIC LIMITED
- Company number
- 02948536
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 14 July 1994
- Registered office area
- East-Central London
- Industry code on the register
- 90020: Creative, arts and entertainment activities
- Accounts
- Single company accounts, this company only
- Accounts type
- Full accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to December 2024, filed 24 September 2025
What does Festival Republic do?
Festival Republic is a music festival promoter that organises and runs large outdoor events, including Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download and Wireless. It earns most of its money from ticket sales, with further income from sponsorship, food and drink concessions, camping upgrades and merchandise. The business grew out of the Mean Fiddler group and took the Festival Republic name in 2007. It is part of Live Nation, the international live entertainment group.
In brief: music festivals · Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download · ticket income · part of Live Nation
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: festivalrepublic.com.
Who owns Festival Republic?
The Companies House register records Uk Festival Holdings Limited as the person with significant control of Festival Republic Limited, company number 02948536. Uk Festival Holdings Limited is itself company number 05646353. It holds 75% or more of the shares or voting rights. The control was notified on 1 April 2025.
That places Festival Republic Limited inside a larger group. The accounts on this page are the company's own, not the wider group's.
The full ownership record is on the Companies House register. Control is given in the bands the register uses, not as exact shareholdings.
Who runs Festival Republic?
The Companies House register lists 6 current officers for Festival Republic Limited.
All 6 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Melvin John Benn | 1 December 1996 |
| Selina Holliday Emeny | 10 October 2005 |
| Denis James Desmond | 10 October 2005 |
| Stuart Robert Douglas | 12 July 2006 |
| Selina Holliday Emeny | 22 August 2018 |
| Lynn Lavelle | 24 April 2019 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did Festival Republic file?
Festival Republic Limited reported turnover of £83m in the year to December 2024. That was up 7.5% on £78m the year before.
It reported 257 employees. The year before it reported 214.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £8m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £7m the year before.
Staff costs came to £10m. That is an average of £39,000 a head. It ended the year with £24m at the bank and net assets of £12m.
| Measure | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £83m | £78m |
| Pre-tax profit | £8m (filed) | £7m (filed) |
| Employees | 257 | 214 |
| Staff costs | £10m | £11m |
| Average staff cost per head | £39,000 | £49,000 |
| Bank and cash | £24m | £26m |
| Net assets | £12m | £6m |
| Dividends paid | n/d | £16m |
| Interest received | £1.6m | |
| Directors' pay | £1.0m |
Read the accounts to December 2024 on Companies House, where every set of accounts the company has filed can be downloaded as a PDF.
Are there any charges against Festival Republic?
Festival Republic Limited has registered 2 charges at Companies House, and all of them have since been satisfied. A charge is security a lender takes over a company's assets; one is satisfied when the lending behind it is repaid or released.
Each charge, with its holder and dates, is on the Companies House register.
How Festival Republic compares
Festival Republic files as Festival Republic Limited, whose person with significant control is Uk Festival Holdings Limited, with turnover of £83m in its latest filed year.
Questions about Festival Republic
What does Festival Republic do?
Festival Republic is a music festival promoter that organises and runs large outdoor events, including Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download and Wireless. It earns most of its money from ticket sales, with further income from sponsorship, food and drink concessions, camping upgrades and merchandise. The business grew out of the Mean Fiddler group and took the Festival Republic name in 2007. It is part of Live Nation, the international live entertainment group.
Who owns Festival Republic?
The Companies House register records Uk Festival Holdings Limited as the person with significant control of Festival Republic Limited. It holds 75% or more of the shares or voting rights.
How much does Festival Republic make?
Festival Republic Limited reported turnover of £83m in the year to December 2024. It filed a pre-tax profit of £8m.
How many people work at Festival Republic?
Festival Republic Limited reported 257 employees in the year to December 2024.
Who runs Festival Republic?
The Companies House register lists 6 current officers for Festival Republic Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from Festival Republic Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 02948536, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are single company accounts: they cover this company alone, not any wider group.
- Pre-tax profit is the figure the company filed, for both years.
- A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d. A zero in the filing is treated as not disclosed, never as nil.
- Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, from £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, from £2m to the nearest million.
- Ownership is shown in the control bands the register of people with significant control uses, not as exact shareholdings.
- Officers' names and appointment dates come from the Companies House register. Job titles come from the company's own website. The description of what the company does comes from its website, or is marked Spark Intel editorial where it is written from stable, checked facts, with the date either way.
Spark Intel, “Festival Republic: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 28 September 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/festival-republic/. Figures from Companies House filings for FESTIVAL REPUBLIC LIMITED (02948536).
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