Turnover nears £100m at maker of Taskmaster, Not Going Out and Catastrophe
The maker of TV shows including Taskmaster, Not Going Out and Catastrophe saw its turnover increase to nearly £100m during its latest financial year.
The London-headquartered Tiverton 2 group, which owns a range of TV production companies including Avalon Entertainment, has posted a turnover of £99.1m for the year to June 30, 2023, up from £88.3m.
Its pre-tax profits declined from £9.9m to £7.7m over the same period.
The group said its profits were impacted by an increase in lower margin revenue streams that were previously hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. It added that overheads also rose with its higher revenue.
Other TV shows produced by Avalon have included The Russell Howard Hour, TV Burp and Starstruck.
Its podcasts include Shagged. Married. Annoyed with Chris and Rosie Ramsey while it was also behind Jerry Springer: The Opera.
In November 2022, a dividend of more than £3.4m was paid to shareholders. A further dividend of £9m was also declared for A shareholders in July 2023.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The Tiverton 2 group has continued the successful strategy of developing and maximising strong brands, achieved by: working with some of the best creative talent in the entertainment business; nurturing and development new ideas and properties both on-screen and on-stage; delivering a strong television production and live events schedule’ retaining rights in TV programming; and by having a highly focused distribution team operating in the secondary TV market.
“This strategy requires a significant level of reinvestment of profits back into the creative process.
“The directors felt confident that the financial risks thereof are managed appropriately.
“We are proud to continue working with the talent that we do and are extremely grateful to them and to all of our staff for all their hard work.”
The group’s turnover from the creation and exploitation of television content increased from £76.4m to £86.6m in the year while its sales from tour promotion rose from £11.8m to £12.4m.
In the UK, the group’s turnover went up from £61.4m to £67.5m while it grew rom £26.8m to £31.5m.
During the year, the average number of people employed by the group increased from 59 to 69.
Avalon Entertainment was co-founded by Jon Thoday who also serves as its managing director.
Avalon and now has offices in London, Los Angeles and New York.