Profit hike for owner of Gary Neville’s The Overlap
Growth in the US helped fuel a surge in both sales and profit at Miroma, the group which previously weighed up a shock £1bn takeover of Channel 4 and the owner of Gary Neville’s The Overlap series.
The marketing agency, which also owns a majority stake in Gary Neville’s production company, Buzz 16, has reported a revenue of £275.6m for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.
The London-headquartered group said the rise in its revenue was mainly because of its growth in the USA.
Its revenue from media increased from £176m to £184.3m in the year while its sales from content production and creative services also rose from £75.6m to £85.9m.
Revenue generated from public relations services also grew from £3.9m to £5.3m in the year.
On a geographical basis, the group’s UK revenue fell from £155.1m to £145.7m but increased from £13.5m to £15m in the rest of Europe and surged from £86.9m to £114.9m in the rest of the world.
The new accounts also show that the group’s pre-tax profit also jumped from £1.3m to £6.5m in the 12 months.
During the year the average number of people employed by the group rose from 688 to 757.
It added that “strong operating cashflows and a further drawdown on the Barclays facility more than offset dividends paid, investing activities and financing activities.
The group holds a revolving credit facility with Barclays of £30m, of which £3m was used in the year.
Since the start of its new financial year, the group has drawn down an extra £2m from its facility. It has now used £20m of the £30m agreed.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The group is well positioned to offer both new and existing clients superior service while maintaining profitability.
“The strength of our customer base coupled with solid pipeline of new contracts continue to position us well to capitalise on opportunities as the economy continues to adapt to the challenging economic environment.”
In June 2022, it was reported that Miroma Group was considering a potential £1.2bn takeover of Channel 4 alongside Idris Elba.
The move eventually came to nothing as the previous government eventually decided not to go ahead with a sale.
The group was founded by Marc Boyan and has around 20 marketing agencies in its portfolio.
One of them, Fold 7, is the creative agency that was behind the Ted Baker brand and helped to launch Muji and developed Orange Wednesdays.
The group took a majority stake in Gary Neville’s Buzz 16 in November 2022.
At the same time, it confirmed plans for an initial public offering which would value it at more than £200m. However, a float has not yet materialised.
Miroma also took majority control of Gary Neville’s popular YouTube channel, The Overlap. Buzz 16 was launched by Neville in 2016.
The accounts for Miroma Group come after CityAM reported recently that a hotel owned by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs slumped further into the red after the closure of Tom Kerridge’s restaurant.
The Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester city centre also posted falling sales despite the publicity it received after Madonna booked the entire hotel out while she was performing in the city.
In November 2024, CityAM also reported that the company behind a now-closed, Michelin-starred restaurant backed by Gary Neville owed almost £1m as it entered liquidation.