News – Really Useful £10m

Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced that ?a minimum of £10m? raised from the sale of four of his West End theatres will be spent on improving and refurbishing the remaining eight theatres in his portfolio.
The £11m sale of Really Useful Theatres? (RUT) playhouses to Nimax, a new company established by American impressario Max Weitzenhoffer and producer Nica Burns, was confirmed this week. The deal, which had been several months in the planning, (AP issue 100, 20 June), will free up capital for RUT to invest in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the Palace Theatre and the London Palladium. RUT is co-owned by Lloyd Webber?s Really Useful Group and Bridgepoint Capital. It was formed in 2000 following the acquisition of the former Stoll Moss Theatres.