2 Johnnies move to shield finances from public view after profits reach over €1m
Kenneth Fox
Podcast hosts and former 2FM presenters, The 2 Johnnies, have moved to put their own Big Ball Small Ball ‘cash-machine’ beyond public scrutiny.
This follows Johnny 'Smacks' McMahon and Johnny B O’Brien re-registering their Big Ball Small Ball Productions Ltd firm to unlimited status at the Companies Registration Office (CRO) where the company will no longer be required to file annual accounts at the CRO.
A document lodged with the CRO shows that the application to go unlimited was signed off by the director of Big Ball Small Ball Productions, John O’Brien, on April 7th.
The annual accounts would usually contain profits recorded for the year and pay to directors, and the firm’s most recent accounts filed in January of this year show that two entertainers shared more than €715,000 in directors’ pay in the 12 months to the end of April last.
In another bumper year for the two comedians, Johnny 'Smacks' McMahon and Johnny B O'Brien, the accounts showed that post-tax profits at the pair’s Big Ball Small Ball Productions Ltd totalled €281,253 for the 12 months to the end of April last.
The post-tax profits resulted in accumulated profits at the company rising above €1 million for the first time to reach €1.13 million at the end of April last.
Company coffers were boosted during the year under review, with The 2 Johnnies recording a box office of €741,597 in front of 12,450 fans at the sell-out gig at Dublin’s 3Arena in December 2024.
Box office receipts are shared between the artist, promoter, venue operator, and ticket seller.
The move by the 2 Johnnies to opt for unlimited status follows others in the public eye, including RTE's Marty Morrissey, now retired jockey, Rachael Blackmore, trainer, Henry de Bromhead, and showjumper Cian O’Connor, successfully re-registering their firms as unlimited.
Celebrity architect, Dermot Bannon, set up his media firm, Redtom Communications UC, in 2019 as an unlimited company, where it is not required to file accounts
Obtaining unlimited status is not confined to those in the public eye, where large businesses such as the company operating, JP McManus’s Adare Manor luxury resort, Tizzard Holdings UC also has unlimited status.
Earlier this month, the 2 Johnnies returned to the 3Arena for a sell-out show, and they will again stage their Pints in a Field at St Anne’s Park on June 8th, where Tinie Tempah is due to perform.
In March, the two completed a five-city date tour of Australia and New Zealand, taking in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, during February and Auckland in New Zealand.
As part of a pilot project BreakingNews.ie has used AI to suggest headline options for this article. The final headline was chosen and edited by BreakingNews.ie journalists. Find out more
