Beckham nets £8m payout from international ventures
THE continued selling power of David Beckham helped the former England and Manchester United star and his wife Victoria share in a £8m dividend last year.
Beckham Brand Holdings (BBH), which manages his global sponsorships and other business ventures, paid out a £8.1m dividend after signing multimillion pound sponsorship deals with Fifa video game maker Electronic Arts, football sticker maker Panini and Mark Wahlberg-backed gym chain F45.
The Beckhams will benefit from the dividend as the ultimate owners of the company through their vehicle Footwork Productions.
Turnover at BBH’S subsidiary DB Ventures fell from £12.7m to £11.4m, and profit after tax rose from £8.9m to £10.6m in 2020.
Mr Beckham’s other business, Seven Global, saw profits jump from $9.91m (£8.2m) to $18.2m (£15m) in 2020, amid a decline in the company’s administrative expenses. Revenues dropped by 4.5pc from $24.3m to $23.2m.
Mr Beckham established Seven Global almost seven years ago to help monetise his celebrity status with a series of commercial endorsements.
The company manages commercial tie-ups with the likes of sportswear brand Adidas and the luxury watchmaker Tudor.
It also oversees his partnership with Safilo, the eyewear company, and the fragrance firm Coty.
Earlier this year Authentic Brand Group bought a majority stake in Mr Beckham’s DB Ventures for a reported $269m. As part of the deal the ex-footballer also became a shareholder in Authentic Brands, which owns Forever 21 and Barneys in New York.
Mr Beckham restructured part of his business towards the end of last year. His consumer product venture GBG International appointed advisers at Teneo Restructuring as it came close to collapse.
GBG International was a subsidiary of Hong-kong listed Global Brands Group which had its shares suspended due to financial difficulties.
Seven Global owned 51pc of GBG International and bought the company during the restructuring process.