ATG Expands West End Base with Savoy PurchaseDate: 12 October 2005
The Monopoly board of West End ownership continues to change. The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) had its leases of the Albery and Wyndham’s Theatres revert to Cameron Mackintosh this month, but its now clawed back some of that loss by capturing the Savoy Theatre.
Announced today, ATG has exchanged contracts for the joint purchase, for an undisclosed sum, of the Savoy along with the Tulbart Group (comprised of American producers Ted and Norman Tulchin, who also co-own the Playhouse Theatre with ATG, and their partner Robert Bartner).
The acquisition of the historic 1,200-seat venue, adjacent to the Savoy Hotel off the Strand, brings ATG’s number of UK venues up to 24. ATG’s last major outright purchase in the West End was the 440-seat Fortune Theatre, home to long-runner The Woman in Black, four years ago (See News, 17 Dec 2001). It also owns and manages the Comedy, Duke of York’s, Donmar Warehouse, New Ambassadors, Phoenix, Piccadilly Theatres and Trafalgar Studios (which it created from the former Whitehall).
In addition to being the UK’s second largest theatre owner, ATG is also one of the country’s biggest producers. Its current productions include Guys and Dolls, starring Ewan McGregor, and Sweeney Todd, which is about to open on Broadway after its Whatsonstage.com Award-winning success in London.
Commenting on the purchase of the Savoy, ATG executive director Rosemary Squire, who is also now president of industry body, the Society of London Theatre (See News, 29 Jun 2005), said: “We are delighted to take over this beautiful and historic building and are thrilled to add a larger venue to complement our other West End theatres. We continue to enjoy fantastic success with Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly, a similar size venue, and we look forward to producing more musicals in the future from our larger theatres such as the Savoy.”
Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen, who has managed the Savoy for the past eight years and also manages the St Martin’s and Victoria Palace, said he wishes “the new owners every success”.
The first theatre on the Savoy’s current site was designed by CJ Phipps and opened on the 10 October 1881. Both the theatre and hotel (built in 1889) were financed by Richard D’Oyly Carte from the profits of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, many of which premiered here. The Savoy became the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. After a major fire in February 1990, the theatre was restored to its former art deco glory and re-opened on the 19 July 1993.
In addition to G&S, amongst some of the notable productions seen at the Savoy over the years are Noel Coward’s Relative Values, JB Priestley’s When We Are Married, Tom Stoppard’s Travesties and Alan Ayckbourn’s Communicating Doors, as well as long runs of Agatha Christie’s The Spider’s Web (which ran for two years) and Michael Frayn’s Noises Off (four years). The Savoy is currently home to The Rat Pack, which transferred from the Strand Theatre (now the Novello) in June (See News, 31 Mar 2005).
In other West End ownership shifts, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatres, co-owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital, sold four of its West End playhouses to new group Nimax, which took over the Apollo, Duchess, Lyric and Garrick this month (See News, 11 Jul 2005). There are rumours that RUT may also sell off some or all of its remaining theatres, including leading musical houses the Palace, the London Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
- by Terri Paddock
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