Superstruct acquires UK’s Y Not festival
Live entertainment powerhouse Superstruct Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in Derbyshire’s Y Not festival.
The Pikehall-based event takes place across three days each summer and attracts more than 25,000 attendees.
Artists including Foals, Elbow, Two Door Cinema Club, Franz Ferdinand, You Me at Six and Wolf Alice have performed at the festival.
Providence Equity-backed Superstruct has acquired the stake from Count of Ten, which has had on-off ownership of Y Not since its inception.
The festival was founded in 2005 by Ralph Broadbent and his company Count of Ten, and remained independent until 2016.
Artists including Foals, Elbow, Two Door Cinema Club, Franz Ferdinand, You Me at Six and Wolf Alice have performed at Y Not
In 2016, Broadbent and Alex Dixon resigned as directors of Count of Ten before radio giant Global acquired Y Not and Oxford’s Truck Festival from the firm, along with South West Four, Field Day, Boardmasters and Rewind from Impresario.
When Global’s portfolio was divvied up in April 2019, Y Not was not acquired by Superstruct or Broadwick Live.
The festival was then bought back by its original owner Count of Ten, led by operations manager Jason Oakley, who has been involved with Y Not since its founding.
In 2022, after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival returned as an independent event, headlined by Stereophonics, Courteeners and Blossoms.
Alongside Y Not, Superstruct also owns UK festivals Truck, Nass, Blue Dot, Victorious, South West Four, Tramlines and Boardmasters.
IQ has contacted Count of Ten and Superstruct for a comment.
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UK’s Y Not back under original management
Derbyshire’s Y Not Festival, the ex-Global event notably not acquired by either Superstruct or Broadwick when they divvied up that company’s festivals in April, is back in the control of previous owner Count of Ten.
“There’s been a bit of chat lately about the future of Y Not and we wanted to share some exciting news with you,” reads a statement from the festival, released yesterday (25 June). “As of last month, Y Not Festival is once again, independent and under the ownership of Count of Ten following a previous purchase by Global Festivals in 2016.”
Radio giant Global acquired Y Not and Oxford’s Truck Festival from Count of Ten in 2016, along with South West Four, Field Day, Boardmasters and Rewind from Impresario. Following its sale by Global, former stablemate Truck is now part Superstruct Entertainment.
Heading up the newly independent Count of Ten is operations manager Jason Oakley, who has been involved with Y Not since its inception, helping to grow the festival from a small grassroots event to one with over 25,000 attendees.
“We’re looking forward to what we believe will be an amazing future”
“We are incredibly excited for this new era for Y Not and we’re looking forward to what we believe will be an amazing future, working on the festival that’s meant so much to us all,” he says. “All our energy and focus is now on giving the Y Notters the best possible festivals that we can. We’re already excited to open the gates for 2019, which we are certain will be the best yet.”
Companies House records show Oakley became a director of Y Not Festivals UK Ltd and Count of Ten Ltd on 11 June. Oakley is also listed as a director of Brownstock UK Ltd, the holding company behind Chelmsford’s Brownstock festival, and his own firm, JO Worldwide Ltd.
Count of Ten founders Alex Dixon and Ralph Broadbent ceased to be directors of the firm in 2016, ahead of the Global acquisition.
Artists playing Y Not 2019 include Foals, Elbow, Two Door Cinema Club, Franz Ferdinand, You Me at Six and Wolf Alice. For 2020, the new owners are asking ‘Y Notters’ to fill in a survey about which artists and other content they want to see at next year’s event.
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Tramlines to move to Hillsborough Park for 2018
UK festival Tramlines is to move out of Sheffield city centre for its 10th anniversary event, after being granted an event licence for Hillsborough Park, a large green space on the outskirts of the city.
Tramlines was launched in 2009 as a free, city-centre festival by Tramlines Events and Sheffield Council, with Tramline Events assuming full control in 2010. Count of Ten (Y Not, Truck Festival) acquired a 38% stake in 2013, introducing several ‘premium’ venues but still keeping a free tier.
The festival moved away from its multi-venue roots in 2017, instead taking place across three green spaces – the Ponderosa (pictured), Devonshire Green and Endcliffe Park – with ticket prices rising to £60 for the Libertines-, Primal Scream- and All Saints-headlined event.
“I’m delighted that our licence for Hillsborough Park has been approved. We can now put our plans into practice as we celebrate the 10th anniversary”
It was announced in April by Music City Foundation, a Sheffield-based nonprofit, that it had entered into an agreement to buy the festival for £1.2 million, but the takeover bid failed to secure shareholder approval and has since fallen through.
“I’m delighted that our licence for Hillsborough Park has been approved,” says festival director Sarah Nulty. “We can now put our plans into practice as we celebrate the 10th anniversary with the biggest and best Tramlines to date. The first line-up announcement will be early next year so please keep an eye on our website and social media channels.”
Nulty adds that Tramlines 2018 will retain an urban element, saying the festival is “working closely with Sheffield City Council on the city-centre proposition to ensure that it remains a core part of the weekend, and more information on those plans will be released in the new year.”
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