Brit Awards in the red ahead of Manchester move
The company behind the Brit Awards has fallen into the red ahead of moving the annual event out of London for the first time in its history.
Brit Awards Limited has reported a pre-tax loss of £12,653 for 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House have confirmed.
The loss comes after the business made a pre-tax profit of £14,942 in 2023.
The loss is the first that the company has posted since the £278,116 it fell to in 2021.
The accounts also show its turnover dipped from £13.3m to £13m over the same period.
In a statement signed off by the board, the Brit Awards said its turnover was down in 2024 because of “a different mix of partnerships” for the annual event.
It added that the company was still able to donate £1m to The Brit Trust in the year.
Brit Awards to leave London
The results come after it was announced in June that the Brit Awards would be held outside London next year for the first time since they began in 1977.
Manchester’s Co-op Live arena will stage the event on Saturday, 28 February, 2026.
The same venue will also hold the 2027 ceremony which will celebrate the Brit Awards’ 50th anniversary.
In May, British Phonographic Industry (BPI) confirmed that this year’s Mercury Prize will be held in Newcastle in September after 32 years in the capital.
The past 15 Brit Awards ceremonies have taken place at London’s O2 Arena.
Mercury Prize organiser also makes a loss
Separately filed accounts for BPI, which as well as organising the Brit Awards is behind the Mercury Prize and co-owns the Official Charts Company, also posted a pre-tax loss for 2024.
According to the results the organisation, which is the British recorded music industry’s trade association, fell to a pre-tax loss of £81,160 for the year.
The firm had previously posted a pre-tax profit of £53,778 in 2023.
The accounts also show that BPI’s turnover increased in the 12 months from £18.4m to £18.8m.
BPI organises the Brit Awards and the Mercury Prize and co-owns the Official Charts Company with the Entertainment Retailers Association.
In a statement signed off by the board, the organisation said: “Turnover for the group was static in the year; attributable to a different mix of partnerships for the annual Brit Awards and due t the Mercury Music Price bot being a ticketed event in the year offset by increased subscription fees.”