Westlife members, Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan were last year 'Flying Without Wings' as combined post tax profits at their individual music firms topped €1.76m.
The three Westlife members are in store for a multi-million euro pay-day in 2026 with the recent announcement of 13 dates at Dublin's 3Arena next September as part of Westlife 25 - The Anniversary World Tour.
Tickets available today for the string of 3Arena gigs show that it can cost €107 for standing tickets to VIP packages ranging from €230 to €509 each.
Accounts filed by firms owned by the three show that their business had a bumper 2024 before the recent 3Arena concert announcement on the back of sell-out dates for the group’s 'With Love' tour across North America and south-east Asia last year.
Accounts filed by Shane Filan’s Ocean Wave Music Ltd show that it recorded post tax profits of €602,573 last year and this followed post tax profits of €1.09m in 2023.
At the end of December last, the company had accumulated profits of €1.8m while its cash pile rose from €793,890 to €1.1m.
Pay to directors at the company last year totalled €169,001 made up of €59,001 in emoluments and pension contributions of €110,000.
This €169,001 compares to directors’ pay of €1.37m in 2023 which was made up of pension contributions of €1.22m and emoluments of €152,158.
The healthy financial state of the Filan firm marks a remarkable turnaround in the finances for the Sligo man.
In 2012, Filan declared himself a bankrupt in the UK after a building firm he established with his brother, Finbarr went into receivership with debts of €23m.
Shane Filan emerged from bankruptcy after 12 months in compliance with laws that were in force in the UK at the time.
Separate accounts filed by Nicky Byrne’s Studz Entertainments Ltd show that it recorded post tax profits of €915,675 in the 12 months to the end of October 2024.
The 2024 profits represent a 31% increase on the post tax profits of €697,100 for 2023.
The profit for 2024 resulted in the company sitting on accumulated profits of €1.6m at the end of October 2024.
Cash funds increased from €413,334 to €1.3m.
The accounts show that directors’ emoluments last year dipped marginally from €100,000 to €95,274 while pension contributions paid or payable to past directors in 2024 totalled €320,000 compared to €1.34m in 2023.
Separate accounts for Kian Egan’s KJ Rock Ltd show that the company recorded post tax profits of €243,605 in the 12 months to the end of October last and this followed post tax profits of €227,614 in 2023.
The value of the company’s current assets - made up of cash and money owed by debtors - last year more than doubled from €778,906 to €1.8m.
At the end of October last, the company was sitting on accumulated profits of €471,443.
In 2018, the band announced that they were getting back together again and figures from trade industry journal, Pollstar, showed that the band’s two sell out gigs at Croke Park in Dublin in July 2019 alone generated $11.65m at the box office.
Westlife's music has been streamed over three billion times globally with 36 number 1 albums worldwide and 14 UK number 1 singles.
The Wild Dreams Tour between 2022 and 2024 sold over 1.2m tickets alone.
The band has performed over 200 shows in 30 countries since their reunion in 2019, and remain the UK and Ireland’s top-selling album group of the 21st century.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
