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Businesses bearing the David Beckham name paid out around $124 million in dividends, according to accounts filed this week, with more profits due to endorsements, digital content and the launch of new consumer products.
A set of DRJB Holdings accounts highlight the continued popularity of the Beckham brand more than ten years after his retirement from football.
DRJB Holdings includes David Beckham Ventures Limited, which owns most of his brand portfolio and receives licensing income from companies such as Boss, Stella Artois and Paramount. It is also the holding company of Studio 99, which produces the Beckham documentary for Netflix and produces advertising campaigns for brand partners.
Beckham and his team are always active in promoting his public image – recently with the popular Netflix documentary – and turn that into a revenue stream by using marketing to connect with interesting brands to connect the star.
Beckham is also the founder and owner of Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami.
IDRJB Holdings is the majority of the US advertising and entertainment group Authentic Brands Group, which was acquired from the company in 2022 and is to oversee its global brand operations.
According to the accounts, filed on Monday, DRJB Holdings paid its shareholders ordinary shares of 28.5 million dollars in 2023 and 38.9 million dollars in the payment of preferred shares.
The accounts also show that after the end of 2023, a final dividend of 5.6mn was paid against preferred shares in the first quarter of 2024, while ordinary shares of 51 million dollars were paid to the company's shareholders.
A person with knowledge of the matter said the shares were split between Authentic Brands, which owns 55 per cent of the business, and Footwork Productions, Beckham's company which owns the rest.
However, Authentic Brands was paid all of its shares in preferred shares, the person added, which means that the football player would have received about 36 million dollars for his share in the company.
Authentic Brands, which owns retailers including Forever 21 and Barneys New York, as well as the naming rights of stars such as Shaquille O'Neal, paid about $269 million for a 55 percent stake in the group by 2022.
According to the accounts, the pre-tax profit of DRJB Holdings increased to $36.2mn in 2023, from $16.2mn in 2022. Revenue rose to $91.2mn, from $89.7mn a year earlier.