Irish Daily Mail

Ed’s €25million pay in ONE year... after releasing ONE single

(that’s changed the shape of his bank balance)

- By Richard Eden

POP superstar Ed Sheeran paid himself £21.4million (€25million) last year, even though he released only one single, Afterglow.

The Galway Girl singer, who was ‘on a break’ from music after getting married and having a daughter, more than doubled his pay, from £10million in 2019.

Newly published accounts for the 30year-old’s business, Ed Sheeran Ltd, firmly establish him as Britain’s best-paid pop star under the age of 30.

They also show he paid a staggering £6.62million in income tax.

The company’s corporatio­n tax bill was £4.41million on a turnover of £31.6million.

‘Best-paid pop star under 30’

With no touring during the pandemic, the money came from song writing royalties and music sales.

Sheeran’s property empire is also making him a pretty penny. The latest accounts for Sheeran’s Maverick Properties Ltd show its assets surpassed £38million in 2020, after he added £3million worth of housing and other buildings.

The musician, who has an estimated fortune of over £200million, was praised in April when he refused to furlough the staff at his restaurant and bar in Notting Hill, west London. Rather than using the taxpayer-funded scheme, he paid the wages from his own pocket. He recently spoke of the trials and tribulatio­ns of running a pub during the pandemic. ‘It’s had a rocky start as it opened two months before the pandemic,’ he said. ‘If you’re looking to make a small fortune in the food industry, you should start with a large fortune.’

The hit-maker, who became a father to daughter Lyra last year, owns a sprawling Suffolk estate and a mansion in London along with two properties in Covent Garden and a pair of flats in Battersea.

The grounds of his country estate include an £850,000 modern home, a 16th century farmhouse he bought for £450,000, a £925,000 four bedroom house, a £525,000 bungalow and a pub he built in 2017.

It is likely Sheeran will make even more money next year as his hiatus ends, with a new album and tour planned. The Mathematic­s Tour is planned for Ireland, the UK, Central Europe and Scandinavi­a, and will be the first time Sheeran has hit the road since his two-year Divide Tour, which ended in 2019.

His most recent single, Bad Habits, has spent 11 weeks at number one.

 ?? ?? More than a Lego house: Ed with wife Cherry and daughter Lyra
More than a Lego house: Ed with wife Cherry and daughter Lyra
 ?? ?? Glowing: Ed Sheeran on tour in 2019
Glowing: Ed Sheeran on tour in 2019

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