Live Nation moves €76m to UK parent firm following bumper profits at 3Arena
Live Nation’s Irish company that owns the 3Arena has made a €76 million payout to its UK parent firm in recent months, according to new accounts. The payout, which was more than seven times larger than the amount paid in 2025, has come following large profits of up to €18 million being recorded by the 3Arena. New accounts for Live Nation Ireland Holdings Ltd, which owns the firm behind the 3Arena, show it paid a €10 million dividend last year and €5.7 million in 2024. The company’s directors in Ireland, Michael Adamson, Sean Duffy and Stuart Douglas, noted in the latest accounts for Live Nation Ireland Holdings Ltd that it received an €82 million dividend from 3Arena operator Amphitheatre Ireland Ltd in 2026. The accounts also disclosed a €76 million dividend paid to its UK parent, Apollo Leisure Group Ltd, which has brought total dividends paid in the past three yearsto €91.7 million. Live Nation did not respond to a request for comment. 3Arena, Ireland’s largest indoor entertainment venue which has hosted acts including Lily Allen and Westlife this year, has been highly lucrative for Live Nation in recent times. Accounts that cover the 2025 financial year for 3Arena have not yet been released, but filings for each year between 2022 and 2024 show it has consistently made after-tax profits of between €14 million and €18 million. The eight-figure profits booked by the venue led to accumulated profits rising to more than €69.3 million at Amphitheatre Ireland Ltd by the end of 2024. Live Nation plans new music and sports venue bigger than 3Arena in Dublin’s docklands Last year, Live Nation’s directors indicated there would be a further boost to reserves as they expected after-tax profits for 2025 “to be in line with 2024”. Live Nation, one of the biggest entertainment groups in the world, also runs many of the country’s big venues on behalf of their owners, including the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, the Gaiety and Olympia theatres. The entertainment group is also the owner of Ticketmaster in Ireland and majority owns promoter MCD. It also has a controlling interest in the Electric Picnic festival. In June, The Irish Times revealed Live Nation has plans to expand its Irish operation through the development of a new 20,000-seater facility in Dublin. The US group’s Irish entity has joined a consortium with US entertainment giant Oak View Group and the Desmond family’s Gaiety Investments that has plans to invest €500 million to create a new music and sports venue in Dublin’s docklands. The group struck a deal to acquire a site in Dublin’s docklands called Brick Yards for close to €90 million on which it will develop the venue that is expected to be larger than the 3Arena. Live Nation’s stake in this project is also held in Live Nation Ireland Holdings Ltd. The latest accounts showed it has committed €15.9 million to the project this year. In June, a spokeswoman for Live Nation said the consortium was “in the early stages of plans to develop” the 20,000-seater venue on the site located close to the 3Arena and beside Dublin Port.