Vince Power departs Mean Fiddler

Mean Fiddler boss Vince Power has sold his remaining £12 million stake in the company he founded in 1981.

Having made a success out of the flagship Mean Fiddler venue in Harlesden, the Waterford-born entrepreneur acquired such other landmark London venues as The Forum and Astoria, and set up a successful festival division which has interests in the Fleadh, Reading and Glastonbury festivals.

The move follows the Mean Fiddler's £5.7 million acquisition of Media Internet Telecom from Richard Clingen, a Monaco-based music download expert who's taking-over as Fiddler chairman.

"It's sad to leave but I'm not really a public company person," Power says referring to the Fiddler's stock-market flotation in 2000. "We did it, and it's been great for the company, but I've always really been an individual entrepreneur. I will probably step down after a transition of around three months and I'm leaving the company in the best shape that it has ever been in."

As for whether his appetite for the music business has been sated, Power is adamant: "I'm not retiring. You haven't seen the last of me."

It'll be interesting to see how Power's departure impacts on Denis Desmond and MCD who earlier this year bought a 24% stake in the Mean Fiddler Organisation.