Livingstone leisure tycoons pocket a dividend of £124m
IAN and Richard Livingstone, the brothers behind David Lloyd Leisure and a string of top hotels, have paid themselves a £124m dividend despite seeing their net assets fall by a third at their property group.
Loopsign, the tycoons’ holding company, paid out the dividend in the year to September 2011, according to accounts filed at Companies House after forgoing a dividend in 2010.
The group’s net asset value fell by 31 per cent to £747.7m in part due to the payout, a £51m annual loss and a £81m downward revaluation.
Loopsign, which operates mainly as property vehicle London & Regional, made a string of disposals last year and amassed a £347m cash pile. It said the cash “puts the group in a strong position to pursue new investments.”
The brothers bought Cliveden House hotel in Buckinghamshire from the collapsed Von Essen portfolio in February.