London Marathon Events sprints to record surplus as profits surge
The organiser of the London Marathon achieved a record surplus last year as pre-tax profit almost doubled to £12m.
London Marathon Events, which also runs several other mass participation races, grew revenue from £48.9m to £59.8m and profit from £6.8m to £12.0m.
That resulted in a record surplus passed to the London Marathon Foundation, its sole shareholder, of £10.6m, LME’s latest accounts show.
“2024 was the most successful year in the history of LME with a record total of £10.6m passed to the Foundation through corporate Gift Aid,” its annual report says.
Its flagship event recorded 53,850 finishers last year, a mark that was broken in April this year when 56,640 participants crossed the line in London – a world record for a marathon.
The total raised for charity in 2024 was £73.5m, another benchmark exceeded this year with more than £75m in donations registered.
What else does London Marathon Events run?
Other events in LME’s portfolio include the Royal Parks Half, the Standard Chartered Great CIty Race, Brighton Marathon, Ford RideLondon and Swim Serpentine.
Last year it also added the London leg of the T100 Triathlon World Tour and entered into a joint venture, Athletic Ventures, with fellow promoter the Great Run Company and UK Athletics.
Athletic Ventures organises the annual London Athletics Meet, which takes place next week, and will deliver the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
It would also lead a bid for London to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships, although the Treasury is yet to confirm whether it will provide the necessary funds.
In addition in 2024, LME acquired companies responsible for organising the Loch Ness Marathon, the Inverness Half and the Bath Half.
RideLondon, which comprises elite races for pro cyclists and mass participation events, will not take place in 2025, however, after LME announced “a full strategic review” of it in September.