MAMA Festivals

Last updated
MAMA Festivals Limited
Company type Private, Subsidiary
Industry Entertainment
Founded2005 [1]
Headquarters
London, England
,
UK
Number of locations
9 venues (2014)
Area served
 UK [1]
Key people
Adam Driscoll, Dean James (co-founders) Rory Bett (CEO)
Kirsty Mcshannon, COO
Products Concerts
OwnerLN-Gaiety Holdings Ltd
Divisions Venues
Festivals & Events
Supporting Services
Subsidiaries Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen
The Forum
The Institute
The Garage
The Ritz
The Arts Club
The Great Escape Festival
Lovebox Festival
Somersault Festival
Wilderness Festival
Global Gathering
Godskitchen
Eclectricity
Website www.mamafestivals.com

MAMA Festivals is a live music and entertainment company which owns and operates a number of live music venues and festivals in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2005, it has acquired many other venue-holding companies, expanding its reach significantly across England.

Contents

The company owns six London venues and three regional venues: Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, The Forum in Kentish Town, The Garage in Islington, The Institute in Birmingham, The Ritz in Manchester, and The Arts Club in Liverpool. The venues range in capacity from 300 to 2,300.[ citation needed ]

In addition, MAMA operates several festivals and events, including Lovebox (London), [2] Wilderness (Oxfordshire), The Great Escape (Brighton), Somersault (North Devon), Global Gathering (Stratford-upon-Avon), Godskitchen, and Future Gods events.

History

MAMA was founded by Adam Driscoll and Dean James in 2005 via the reverse takeover of Campus Media by Stonesthrow Media (Channelfly Group). The newly re-branded MAMA Group was admitted to AIM in December 2005. MAMA stands for Music and Media Assets. On 11 June 2007, the company purchased the Hammersmith Apollo [3] and The Forum. [4] The same year, MAMA Group acquired Mean Fiddler Holdings Limited [5] the company which owned The Jazz Café, The Garage, The Borderline, and held a majority share in G-A-Y.

On 6 March 2008, the group acquired The Picture House, Edinburgh from Luminar Liquid Limited, a subsidiary of Luminar Group Holdings plc. [6] On 1 April 2008, MAMA acquired The institute, Birmingham and on 13 June 2008, they acquired a majority share in Global Gathering Group Limited (formerly Angel Music Group Limited), [7] the company which owns GlobalGathering, Godskitchen, and Future Gods brands. MAMA acquired 100% of Global Gathering Group Limited in 2011.

On 22 September 2008, MAMA Group acquired Heaven (London) Limited, the company which owns the leasehold of the Heaven Nightclub. [8]

On 15 January 2009, HMV Group purchased a 50 percent stake in MAMA Group. The new company, Mean Fiddler Group Limited, operated 11 venues across the United Kingdom, including the Hammersmith Apollo, The Forum in Kentish Town, The Garage, Jazz Café, The Edinburgh Picture House, Digbeth Institute in Birmingham, Heaven, G-A-Y Bar, G-A-Y Late, The Borderline, and Aberdeen's Moshulu. [9] [10] In January 2010, HMV bought the whole of the MAMA Group in a deal worth £46m. [11]

HMV sold the Hammersmith Apollo to AEG Live and Eventim UK in May 2012 for £32 million. [12] It sold the remainder of MAMA & Company to management backed by Lloyds Development Capital in December 2012 for £7.3 million, which also included the company's 50% stake in Mean Fiddler Group (excluding Heaven and the G-A-Y businesses). [13]

March 2013, MAMA acquired East Village Arts Club (formerly The Masque), Liverpool on 5 February 2013 [14] and Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen. [15]

In 2015, MAMA was acquired by LN-Gaiety, a joint venture of Live Nation UK and the parent company of MCD Productions. [16] Three MAMA venues, the Ritz in Manchester, the Forum in Kentish Town and the Institute in Birmingham, would be rebranded by Live Nation as the O2 Ritz Manchester, O2 Forum Kentish Town, and O2 Institute Birmingham respectively. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mott the Hoople</span> British rock band

Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally named the Doc Thomas Group, the band changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums at the beginning of the 1970s but failed to find any success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote their glam-style signature song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became their first hit in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced their album of the same name, which added to their success.

O2 (typeset as O2) is a global brand name owned by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica. The company uses the O2 brand for its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since 2018, it is also used as an online-only flanker brand in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O2 Academy Birmingham</span> Music venue in England

O2 Academy Birmingham is a music venue located in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

Festival Republic is a UK music promoter. It was founded as Mean Fiddler Group in 1982 by Irish-born chairman John Vincent Power, as a venue-management and music-promotion group. After the group was taken over by Hamsard Ltd in 2005, the focus became more concentrated on festivals, and in 2007 the venues along with the Mean Fiddler name were sold on, with the remaining company being renamed Festival Republic. Melvin Benn is the current managing director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammersmith Apollo</span> Live entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London

The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Hammersmith, London, it is an art deco Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HMV</span> Public entertainment retailing company

Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV, is a British based music and entertainment retailer, currently operating in the European countries of Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G-A-Y</span> Gay nightclub in London

G-A-Y is a long-running gay nightclub brand, based at the Heaven nightclub in Charing Cross, London, owned by Jeremy Joseph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O2 Forum Kentish Town</span> Concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England

The O2 Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digbeth Institute</span> Music venue in Birmingham, England

The O2 Institute (originally known as the Digbeth Institute) is a music venue located in Birmingham, England. The venue opened in 1908 as a mission of Carrs Lane Congregational Church. It has also served as an event centre, civic building and nightclub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AIR (nightclub)</span> Nightclub in Birmingham, England

AIR is a 2,000 capacity superclub located in Digbeth, Birmingham in England. AIR started as a spray shop for buses, when in 2000 the building was bought by Godskitchen and converted into a club, originally named CODE. In June 2003, CODE closed for a complete refit and reopened in late September 2003 under the new name of AIR. Improvements included an extra room of music being added to the two already in use. Along with the club's name change, the 3 spaces inside were named the Oxygen Arena, the Nitrogen Room and the Carbon Lounge. The club features state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems. In 2002, Fergie said "It is one of the best [sound] systems I've ever played on, throughout the whole world".

Live Nation UK is the United Kingdom subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment. They are best known for promoting concerts, operating venues and running festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven (nightclub)</span> Nightclub in London, England

Heaven is a gay superclub in Charing Cross, London, England. It has played a central role and had a major influence in the development of London's LGBT scene for over 40 years and is home to long-running gay night G-A-Y. The club is known for Paul Oakenfold's acid house events in the 1980s, the underground nightclub festival Megatripolis, and for being the birthplace of ambient house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ritz (Manchester)</span> Live music venue in Manchester, England

The O2 Ritz (originally known as The Ritz) is a live music venue on Whitworth Street West in Manchester, England. The venue is notable for its sprung dance floor and has a capacity of 1,500.

The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR), created in 1997, is a United Kingdom body providing self-regulation for the live event ticket sales industry. Its aim is to ensure consumer confidence in the sale of event tickets via member compliance with a code of practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dot to Dot Festival</span>

The Dot to Dot Festival is an annual music festival held at various venues in Nottingham, Bristol and Manchester across a weekend. Unlike weekend music festivals such as the Reading and Leeds Festivals, there is no artist rotation – all artists play one city the first day and travel to the other for the following day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O2 (UK)</span> British telecommunications provider

Telefonica UK Limited, trading as O2 UK (stylised as O2), is a British telecommunications services provider, headquartered in Slough, England which operates under the O2 brand. It is owned by VMED O2 UK Limited, a 50:50 joint venture between Telefónica and Liberty Global. O2 is the UK's largest mobile network operator, with 23.8 million subscribers as of May 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Garage (London)</span> Music venue in London, England

The Garage is a live music and club venue in Highbury, North London. It opened in 1993 and has a capacity of 600. The upstairs room, also known as the Grace, has a capacity of 150.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eventim UK</span> British events and ticket agent

Eventim UK is an events and ticket agent, based in London, England. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Europe's largest ticket retailer, CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us". MAMA & Company. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "MAMA acquires 100% of Lovebox". Music Week. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Announcements: MAMA Group Plc announces purchase of the Hammersmith Apollo". MAMA Group PLC. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "Mama Group acquire the Forum". Music Week. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Bowers, Simon (14 August 2007). "The Mean Fiddler comes to Mama". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Announcements: MAMA Group announce acquisition of Edinburgh venue". MAMA Group PLC. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  7. ↑ "Announcements: MAMA Group announce completion of acquisition of Angel Music Group Limited". MAMA Group PLC. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  8. ↑ "Announcements: Mama Group announce Acquisition of Heaven (London) Limited". MAMA Group PLC. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  9. ↑ Leroux, Marcus (15 January 2008). "HMV Group plugs into live music market". The Times . London. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "Announcements: MAMA Group announces joint venture with HMV in the live venue market". MAMA Group PLC. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "HMV buys MAMA Group in live music takeover deal". BBC News online. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Hammersmith Apollo in London sold by HMV to Stage C". BBC News Online. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Anne-Sylvaine Chassany (3 December 2012). "HMV sells Mama Group music arm to LDC". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Liverpool venue The Masque to join MAMA Group". Music Week. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Mama buys Hoxton Bar & Kitchen for £1.9m". 2013-03-19. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  16. ↑ "Live Nation acquires UK's MAMA through Gaiety Investments JV - Music Business Worldwide". Music Business Worldwide. 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  17. ↑ "Live Nation re-brands 3 ex-MAMA venues as 'O2' in the UK - Music Business Worldwide". Music Business Worldwide. 2015-10-12. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.