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Simon Cowell denied huge pay after profit slashed at Britain’s Got Talent owner
Simon Cowell has not repeated the huge £50m pay day he awarded himself after profit was slashed at his TV empire behind Britain’s Got Talent.
Syco Holdings did not issue a dividend to the TV mogul in the year to 31 March, 2024, after its pre-tax profit was cut from £21.1m to £11.9m.
Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that the firm’s turnover fell from £32.6m to £30.2m over the same period.
The TV empire owned by Simon Cowell, which he gained back full control of from Sony in 2020, saw its turnover in the UK decrease from £7.1m to £5.7m in the year.
Its turnover in the USA also declined from £13.7m to £16.3m but sales in the rest of the world increased from £7.7m to £8.2m.
The group’s operating profit also fell from £19.7m to £17.2m but its net assets rose from £49.2m to £56.4m.
Simon Cowell’s TV empire eyeing growth
In a statement included in the accounts, Simon Cowell said: “Prospects for further growth in production of formats across the world continue to be strong with additional territories forecast to launch in the nest 12 months.”
While Simon Cowell’s Syco owns the rights to the Got Talent format, the show is produced in the UK by Fremantle.
In October 2024, City AM reported that profit at the group’s UK arm had fallen during its latest financial year from £22.9m to £9.4m.
Its turnover also decreased from £374.3m to £364.8m over the same period.
The accounts for Syco come after the talent agency that represents Simon Cowell, as well as the likes of Graham Norton and Claudia Winkleman, significantly cut its pre-tax loss in the year before it was sold.
YMU, whose clients also include Nicole Scherzinger, Stacey Solomon and Ant and Dec, reported a pre-tax loss of 32m for 2023, according to accounts with Companies House.
The London-based business had previously reported a pre-tax loss of £16.2m for 2022.
The accounts, which were published in October 2024, also showed that its turnover nudged up from £41.6m to £42.4m over the same financial year.
The results came after YMU was sold in March 2024 for £60m.
The business was taken over by Permira Credit in a move which saw Trilantic Europe exit the agency.
The agency is chaired by Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of Elon Musk’s X.
