Frieze’s Owner Endeavor Reports Higher Q3 Losses After Disclosing Potential Sale of Art Fair

Endeavor Group Holdings, the Hollywood entertainment company that owns the Frieze art fair and media franchise, reported a loss of $420.36 million for the third quarter, a sharp increase from the $116 million loss recorded in the same period last year.

Despite this, the company saw growth in revenue, generating $2 billion this year, compared to $1.34 billion during the same quarter last year, according to an investor report released last week.

The report also revealed that the company’s Events, Experiences & Rights segment—of which Frieze is a part—saw revenue jump 145.1 percent to $899.8 million for the quarter, driven primarily due to hospitality provider On Location’s work for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, the segment’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a key measure of profitability) actually saw a $68 milion loss, more than double the $29.85 milllion lost for the same quarter in 2023.

The earnings report comes less than a month after Endeavor announced it is exploring the sale of assets in its experiences and events division, including Frieze’s art fairs in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul, along with its magazine. Revenue in the events and experiences segment, which includes Frieze, grew by 145% year-over-year, reaching $900 million.

Endeavor began acquiring Frieze in 2016 and completed the acquisition by purchasing the remaining 30% stake for $16.5 million in May 2023. This valuation was lower than the estimated value of that stake in 2022, which was set at $24.6 million, as indicated in the company’s 2023 SEC filings. At the time of acquisition, Frieze was already running two fairs in London—Frieze London and Frieze Masters—as well as one in New York. Endeavor’s backing enabled Frieze to expand, launching fairs in Seoul and Los Angeles in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Amid the pandemic, Endeavor aimed to capitalize on a return to live events. According to Endeavor’s 2022 financial report, the events, experiences, and rights division generated $2.5 billion, a 21 percent increase from the previous year, accounting for 47 percent of the company’s total $5.3 billion revenue.

Frieze’s profit margins, however, have remained slim, according to a former manager involved in planning recent editions of Frieze New York who oversaw its budget. Speaking anonymously to ARTnews ahead of the Los Angeles fair in 2023, they described Frieze, its magazine and fair editions combined, as a “gem” in Endeavor’s portfolio due to its associations with the art world, rather than being seen corporately as a revenue driver.