Stuart Galbraith’s new company and its new Swedish office is part of an aggressive expansion plan by AEG Live which includes a network of independent promoters who generate content for its growing arena portfolio. A portfolio that will soon include Hamburg’s Color Line Arena.

Live Nation sacked its UK MD last month amidst speculation that he was preparing to jump ship and take colleagues with him. President and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, has revealed that Galbraith’s new venture will indeed be funded by Philip Anschutz’s touring outfit, and be titled Kilimanjaro.

Stuart Galbraith’s new company and its new Swedish office is part of an aggressive expansion plan by AEG Live which includes a network of independent promoters who generate content for its growing arena portfolio. A portfolio that will soon include Hamburg’s Color Line Arena.

Live Nation sacked its UK MD last month amidst speculation that he was preparing to jump ship and take colleagues with him. President and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, has revealed that Galbraith’s new venture will indeed be funded by Philip Anschutz’s touring outfit, and be titled Kilimanjaro.

“He’ll be promoting big arena tours, as a lot of his relationships are in that segment, and also festivals,” Phillips says. “We’re pretty dominant in festivals [in the US], and we’d like him to look for opportunities to build festivals, not just in the UK but throughout Europe as well.”

AEG Live is entering a period of aggressive expansion over the next 24 months, to swell the concert promotion division’s current EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profits of $30million (€21m), to between $50m (€35m) and $100m (€70m).

To compliment The O2 (20,000-cap) in London, and Berlin’s O2 World (17,000), which opens in autumn 2008, AEG is in the process of purchasing Hamburg’s Color Line Arena (17,000); a deal that Phillips expects will be finalised within weeks.

“Our facilities manager, Bob Newman, is looking at a lot of venues in Europe and we have a big push in China where we have an office,” Phillips says.

While competitor Live Nation’s business model pivots around dedicated territorial outposts, AEG’s vision includes strategic partnerships. The first sign of this was the 49% stake it purchased in UK promoter Marshall Arts in October 2006, and Galbraith’s deal will allow him a similar freedom.

“It behoves us to keep as many promoters independent as possible, because of the competition between us and Live Nation,” Phillips says.

The most recent recruits are former EMA Telstar employees David Maloney and Michael Tillman who set up a Scandinavian wing for AEG last month.

“If AEG were promoting a European tour, they were forced to work with Live Nation because there was no other alternative. It’s a natural step considering that they compete with each other,” says Maloney, who’s diplomatic about his relationship with EMA, but adds, “After being with them for 20 years there’s a lot of emotions and feelings involved.”

For Phillips, the Swedish office is a continuation of an aggressive development ethos. “We make sure we have our core business covered, but if opportunities arise, like David Maloney’s availability or Stuart Galbraith’s contract hiccup with Live Nation and we can grab a really strong executive, we’ll go for it,” he says.

Phillips also hints that AEG might be looking to purchase a venue in Sweden, saying, “[Maloney’s deal] was one of those rare instances where we went for the content office first with the real estate to follow.”