Shareholders will have to wait for the release of Main Event Entertainment Group’s May to July quarterly results before they can know if the company has turned a corner on the losses it posted at the start of this financial year.

But early signs from its first fully owned production—the Jamaica Auto Show—have left company heads and investors feeling cautiously optimistic that the bet on proprietary events may offer a path to steady growth.

Main Event, long known for pulling off some of Jamaica’s biggest corporate launches, concerts, and cultural showcases, is now turning the spotlight on itself.

The company, which built its reputation on delivering top-tier event production for clients like telecoms, banks, and festivals, is beginning to pursue a different business model; one where it owns the event, manages the partners, and controls the profits — or losses.

“We’re very encouraged,” CEO Solomon Sharpe told the Jamaica Observer in a post-AGM interview about the debut of the company’s first proprietary event under the new strategy. “It was always a part of our bigger plan. But sometimes when you’re executing your clients’ events, you have to put them ahead of you.”

That deferment is now over.

Main Event allocated resources to produce the Jamaica Auto Show—an idea years in the making. And by all indications, it delivered. “When we went to the people for the Jamaica Auto Show, they were like, ‘It’s Main Event doing this!’” Sharpe recalled. “They felt a certain level of confidence. And we delivered according to their confidence in us.”

Organised in partnership with Mystique Integrated and iPrint Group, Jamaica Auto Show (JAS) 2025 took place May 10–11 at the National Arena and Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston. It brought together over 70 exhibitors —including 25-plus automotive brands — and welcomed record crowds. Attendees praised it as “the biggest auto show Jamaica has ever seen”.

Main Event hasn’t disclosed the full financials from the event, but says that the response from sponsors, dealers, and patrons was strong enough to justify more. Still, Sharpe is managing expectations.

“We want to do at least one per quarter,” he said. “But one per quarter may not come until 2026 or 2027.”

Main Event’s pivot to proprietary events comes at a time of rising pressure. After peaking in 2023 with record revenue of $1.92 billion and profit of $207 million, the company saw a sharp drop in financial year 2024. Revenue fell 11 per cent to $1.72 billion, and net profit slumped to $70 million — a 66 per cent decline — amid fewer large-scale events, tighter marketing budgets, and the cancellation of several planned productions, including some disrupted by Hurricane Beryl.

By the second quarter of 2025, the strain was evident. Main Event reported a net loss of $9.3 million for the three months ending April, its first quarterly loss in over three years. Revenue for the half-year dropped 10 per cent year-over-year, weighed down by sluggish performances in its core event promotion and décor segments.

“The second quarter unfolded within a still recovering economic environment,” the company told shareholders in the recently released report. “Demand for entertainment, events, and promotional services often comes under pressure in times of reduced disposable income.”

But beneath the financial drag, Sharpe sees opportunity—particularly in the proprietary model. Unlike the client service model, where success is often tied to someone else’s budget, Sharpe told the BusinessWeek that Main Event’s new direction gives it more leverage over how revenue is earned and distributed.

Still, he doesn’t pretend the event industry is a fair fight. “There is no barrier to entry,” he said.

“And you have to be cautious when you play the price game,” Sharpe continued, taking subtle aim at what he described as “copycats” in the market. “…but we have established from day one that we are going to do things at a who le different level.”

The shift didn’t happen in a vacuum. Like most in the entertainment space, Main Event’s world collapsed in 2020. That year, the company posted a loss of $18 million—its first since listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Junior Market in 2017. Events were cancelled, staff hours were cut, and management had to freeze capital projects and renegotiate leases just to survive.

Yet, from that brutal contraction came an awareness of the company’s strengths. It held a wide asset base, had a resilient team, and a brand that still held weight. “From COVID, we questioned, ‘Who are we, where are we?’” Sharpe reflected. “It’s about time that we start to utilise our assets.”

They did just that. By 2022, the company had staged a full rebound—revenues jumped 104 per cent to $1.55 billion, and net profit surged to $151 million. That momentum continued into 2023.

But the softness that returned in 2024 served as a reminder that MEEG’s core business is tied too tightly to client-driven spending. That’s why proprietary events like the Jamaica Auto Show matter so much now — not just as revenue generators, but as hedge instruments against market volatility.

“There are some things in the pipeline that will be hard for our competitors to replicate,” Sharpe said, hinting at other sectors being explored. “I signed NDAs recently, so I can’t really talk. But fingers crossed, there are some potentially exciting things to announce.”

To formalise its push into proprietary productions, Main Event has already coined a new internal division called MOE — Main Event Entertainment Group (M) Owned Events — which Sharpe confirmed is being structured to house the company’s branded shows going forward.

While he remained tight-lipped on the full road map, he hinted at a broader restructuring in the works, particularly around legacy business lines that may no longer align with the company’s growth priorities. “You’re smart and you’re on to something,” he said in response to questions posed by the Jamaica Observer, suggesting that some business segments could eventually be consolidated or repositioned as the company narrows focus around higher-margin, brand-owned experiences.

In the entertainment space, Main Event’s competitors range from full-service agencies like Prism Communications and One Integrated Group to niche players such as Tomorrow’s Event Solutions and large-scale producers like Downsound Entertainment, which stages Reggae Sumfest.

But what sets the company apart, Sharpe argues, is not just equipment or inventory — it’s the integration of everything. “A concert can be executed with or without us. But people trust our brand for top-notch experience.”

The company’s 360-degree offering — from lighting to digital signage to décor — is what Sharpe is betting on as it courts partners for future owned events. “Even though we have a healthy cash balance, we won’t just write a cheque and chase clients for these events,” the CEO noted. “We’ve been very meticulous and very cautious in our approach.”

Despite the Q2 stumble, Main Event remains in solid financial shape. As of April 2025, it held over $394 million in cash and short-term deposits and reported equity of $946 million — up from $882 million just six months earlier.

Expenses, including leases and amortisation, are weighing on the bottom line.

During the AGM, Chairman Ian Blair in responding to questions posed by a shareholder, said the spike was not due to renegotiated terms with a landlord who returned “with a vengeance” after COVID-era concessions expired.

“It’s not ideal where I want to be,” he admitted, noting that while the location remains central and comfortable, the company is now actively exploring alternatives. “We are going to remedy that in a different way,” Blair added, suggesting a more strategic response is in the works to contain lease-related costs without compromising operational effectiveness.

Operating costs also rose 5 per cent year over year, while depreciation and finance charges continued to chip away at margins. Yet management insists this is part of a broader strategic repositioning.

“There’s one very big thing I’m working on. I knew it was always where the company would have to be,” Sharpe teased. “And when the floodgates open, we will see who is best positioned to capitalise.”