SONY UPS STAKE IN SYCO FOR £86M

Freshly filed accounts have revealed that Sony’s six-year deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco in 2015 was worth £86m with the major company tripling its share to 75%. The length of the new deal was revealed by Cowell during his MITs acceptance speech, with numbers spotted by British tabloid Daily Mail via a January filing at Companies House.

£52.4m of that £86m was paid in 2015, with a further £33.4m due before 2021. Cowell’s share is down from 40% to 20% as a result, with Sir Philip Green also taking a 50% cut from 10% to 5%.

The TV and music firm that encompasses label Syco and the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent franchises made £1.46m in the 39 weeks to March 2016.