The company behind the Great North Run grew turnover but saw profits drop as it absorbed the impacts of high inflation and investments in new staff, accounts reveal.
Gateshead based Nova Marketing, which trades as The Great Run Company, is known for staging the Great North Run in the North East as well as a series of 10K, half-marathon and other events around the UK. Recent years have also seen it increase its TV production work.
Latest accounts for the company, which is based in offices beside the Tyne Bridge, show turnover rose from £17.2m to £18.1m in 2023, although operating profit dropped from £1.99m to £1.24m and pre-tax profits fell from £2.14m to £1.45m.
The company grew its workforce in the year, with employee numbers increasing from 49 to 54 across the group in the year, and the accounts highlight rising costs and inflationary pressures.
Despite the challenges, however, directors pointed to a successful year of events, which marked a return to normality after being severely impacted during the pandemic. In 2021, all of its events were wiped out, following the first national lockdown in March and subsequent coronavirus restrictions.
In the report, directors said: “2023 saw a continuation of the normalisation of the running market, following a challenging period through 2021 and into 2022. As in 2022, Nova Marketing continued to outperform the general market trends.
“We were pleased to welcome new title partner of the Great Run Series, AJ Bell, in 2023 and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them through the period of our contract.
“As in the previous years, 2023 saw a significant inflationary impact on general costs and whilst the directors are pleased with the cost management within the group, it must be noted that the macroeconomic environment has made this challenging. In addition, 2023 saw the full financial impact of the investments in staffing which were made in later 2022.”
The accounts year saw the formation of the group’s adventure division, which comprises its swim and trail running events, starting with the September 2023 staging of the Inaugural 13 Valleys Ultra, staged over a weekend with events over four distances ranging from 22km to 184km. The event is staged in partnership with the Lake District National Park and a proportion of profits are paid to the Lake District National Park Foundation, to support restorative work within the National Park.
Meanwhile, the firm said its film and TV production division, FilmNova, had a successful year with a strong portfolio of commissions, including a significant proportion of triathlon events on behalf of the World Triathlon Association and the Professional Triathlon Organisation.
Since the year end, at the start of 2024, the group announced the formation of Athletics Ventures LLP – a joint venture between the group, London Marathon Events Limited and UK Athletics – which will stage the portfolio of UKA Elite Athletics Events, including the UK Diamond League meetings. Athletics Ventures will also stage the European Athletics Championships to be held in Birmingham in 2026.
The directors added: “This is a significant and important strategic move for the group and the directors are confident that the long term impact on the group of this activity will be positive.”