Profits decline at Noel Kelly talent agency which represents Ryan Tubridy

Post-tax profits at the firm which operates the Dublin-based talent agency that represents Ryan Tubridy last year declined by 32pc to €272,554 – before the RTÉ payments scandal emerged.

Last year, Mr Tubridy’s agent and co-owner of NK Management, Noel Kelly became embroiled in the RTÉ payments scandal after it emerged that Mr Kelly had been centrally involved in negotiating the controversial pay top-up for Tubridy which was linked to car manufacturer Renault.

Now, new accounts show that Mr Kelly’s Cleary Consultancy Ltd, trading as NK Management, recorded post tax profits of €272,554 in the 12 months to the end of March 31st last year.

This followed the firm recording profits of €404,085 in the prior year.

The new accounts show that accumulated profits at the end of March last stood at €1.174m, while the company’s cash funds increased from €228,009 to €479,119.

Along with Tubridy, NK Management also represents the likes of Pat Kenny, Dermot Bannon, Kathryn Thomas, Claire Byrne and Joe Duffy.

The abridged accounts – signed off on January 24th by Mr Kelly and Catriona Cleary- make no reference to the RTÉ payments scandal.

Last June, James O’Connor TD (FF) at the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) queried the reasons for Kelly’s “God-like power” within RTÉ.

Senator Malcolm Byrne (FF) told the Oireachtas media committee that “it seems very clear that Noel Kelly seems almost to be able to dictate contracts to RTÉ and they are simply accepted”.

At the height of the controversy last July, Mr Kelly became a household name after appearing alongside Ryan Tubridy during a gruelling seven-hour marathon of questioning before two Oireachtas committees at Leinster House.

Amid the fallout from the RTÉ payments scandals, in August, RTÉ director general, Kevin Bakhurst said that it wasn’t his intention to deal directly with Noel Kelly when negotiating with RTÉ presenters regarding their contracts.

However, Mr Kelly has bounced back after negotiating a deal for Tubridy to sign with Virgin Radio in the UK. He has also negotiated a sponsorship deal with AerCap for clients, Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper for their new Path To Power podcast in what Cooper has claimed could be “the biggest sponsorship deal ever done for an Irish podcast”.

Prior to the scandal, Mr Kelly’s preference was to shun the limelight and in a rare press interview a number of years ago, Mr Kelly said: “I’m not interested in the limelight. I like the fact that I can get on the Luas and nobody knows who I am or what I do.”

The two directors for Cleary Consultancy Ltd are listed as Mr Kelly and Catriona Cleary and the accounts show that aggregate pay to directors remained at €114,000 in the year under review. Numbers employed by the business remained at nine.

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