GARY LINEKER RECEIVES £1M PAYOUT AS GOALHANGER PROFITS DOUBLE

Gary Lineker has received more than £1m as part of a £5m dividend paid by Goalhanger Podcasts, the company behind The Rest Is Football and The Rest Is History, after its profits rose sharply. Accounts filed at Companies House show a pre-tax profit that one report put at £9.8m and another at £10m for the year, more than double the £4.2m recorded in 2024. Dividends to shareholders rose from £36,000 in 2024 to just over £5m. Lineker, a former England footballer and broadcaster, co-founded Goalhanger and remains one of its largest shareholders.

Revenue rose to £37.8m, up from £15.4m the year before, while paying subscribers more than doubled to 243,000. The company recorded 667 million plays across audio and video from its 13 shows, with advertising accounting for about two-thirds of revenue. Partnerships with Spotify, YouTube and Apple have helped expand its audience, Goalhanger said. The Kennington-based business hired an extra 20 staff during the year, taking its headcount to 54, after launching The Rest Is Science, The Rest Is Football and The Rest Is Classified. The Rest Is Football is hosted by Lineker with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

Goalhanger agreed a £14m deal with Netflix in December 2025 to stream a daily version of The Rest Is Football during the World Cup, an arrangement since extended for two years to 2028. The World Cup series ran for 40 days and reached number one in Netflix's UK chart. The company has also launched a venture capital arm, Goalhanger Ventures, to invest in other media businesses. Co-founder Jack Davenport said it aims to help creator-led businesses "scale thoughtfully, commercially and creatively" without losing their independence.