The company that operates the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin has reported an increase in earnings for last year on the back of several high-profile productions including Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King which saw over half a million people attend shows at the theatre.
Recently filed accounts for Crownway Entertainment Limited show turnover rose to €14.2 million last year, up from just under €13 million previously.
Operating profit reached €4.4 million, up from €3.2 million in 2022, while the group’s pre-tax profit was €3.8 million, up from €2.7 million for the previous 12-month period.
“Strong trading in 2023 was driven by a diverse programme of drama, music, ballet and opera including blockbuster productions such as Beauty and the Beast, Blood Brothers, The Lion King, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Estonian National Ballet and La Boheme,” Crownway Entertainment said in a statement while noting more than half a million people attended shows during the year.
The company said the trading momentum from 2023 had carried into the current year with shows such as Hamilton, Wicked and Mary Poppins “proving particularly successful”.
It also noted it had renewed the naming rights agreement with Bord Gáis Energy for 10 years.
Accounts for the group show sales of food and beverages at the venue accounts for €3.1 million or a fifth of overall turnover last year. The average number of staff including directors employed by the company was 51, up from 47 in 2022.
Crownway is a family investment company owned by husband-and-wife team John and Bernie Gallagher. It acquired the theatre in 2014 for €29.1 million and purchased the freehold on the property from Dublin City Council in 2017.
Entrepreneur Harry Crosbie opened the theatre in 2010 but lost control of the property after his loans were transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).
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