THE MAIN entertainment company owned by Irish pop group Westlife recorded a loss last year in spite of extensive touring by the band.
Last month Ireland’s most successful boy band secured their last big pay day as Westlife when they played their final concert before more than 80,000 fans at Croke Park after a 14-year career that saw them selling 44 million records, including 14 UK No 1 singles and seven chart-topping albums.
Last year the quartet, made up of Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily, toured extensively on their Gravity Tour with dates around the UK, Ireland, Africa along with a string of dates in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia.
The band – managed by Louis Walsh – were promoting their 11th studio album, Gravity, and their sold-out five-night run at Dublin’s O2 last year alone grossed €2.69 million.
However, accounts just filed by their main firm, Bluenet Ltd, with the Companies Office show the firm’s accumulated profits last year almost halved from €49,448 to €28,084.
The returns also show cash held by the firm dropped sharply from €450,069 to €127,339 in the year to the end October last. The returns show lead singer Shane Filan – who declared bankruptcy in the UK last month following the collapse of his property firm – is no longer a director of the firm, having resigned during the year.
The firm’s auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers confirm the company recorded a loss last year after recording a profit in 2010.
The accounts – signed off by Kian Egan – are abridged providing limited information and the loss may be connected with the salaries or dividends received by the band members last year.
However, the accounts do not disclose what monies were taken out of the company in either salaries or dividends. The accounts do show that €308,035 was paid in PAYE, indicating significant salaries paid out last year.
The company derives its revenue from tour income, merchandising income and recording royalty income.
