Wanna buy a real, proper theatre?

That's two empty theatres on the outskirts of Manchester then. The Hulme Hippodrome, Tameside Theatre/Hippodrome, plus the Theatre Royal on Peter St, directly inbetween the Palace Theatre and the Opera House . Apparently the latter is owned by the Edwardian Group who own the hotel constructed within the old Free Trade Hall, directly next door to the Theatre Royal. Its use as a nightclub etc have not damaged the interior , the actual theatre fittings have just been covered up to accommodate changes of use. Mant years ago my late brother did some referencing on the building on behalf of the inland revenue, and he assured me this was the case.

I love old theatres!

Anyone have any idea how much it would cost to buy an average sized West End theatre? Must be millions.

It’ll vary on size and location, The Palladium probably costs more than the Playhouse for example.

ATG paid £90m for the Live Nation theatres but that was mostly for the regional theatres. I’m not sure what Nederlander paid to acquire LN stake in the Dominion but I imagine it was a couple of million, I do wonder how much Cameron paid for the VP and the Ambassadors, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cameron got the VP at a lower price in exchange for paying for the refurb

The simple answer is a theatre is worth whatever someone (an individual or company) is prepared to pay for it. In reality, it is of course much more complicated than that.

Even by my usual standards this is going to get quite boring, so please fell free to stop reading now. I shan't be offended.

The real value, especially in central London, is in the land, because, as the saying goes, they aren't making anymore. The problems really start if some well meaning Victorian or Edwardian built a theatre on top! As 33 of the West End theatres are listed, and must therefore be maintained to a certain standard, the liabilities are huge. However much is invested in a listed theatre will never be reflected in the resale value.

Let's take the Victoria Palace as an example. Cam Mack agreed to pay £26,130,000 for the VP, with £21,130,000 paid in cash on completion, and the remaining £5,000,000 held in escrew as contingency, to be paid between September 2016 and December 2019. It has already been 'negotiated' that the final consideration will be reduced by at least £1,750,000, so the maximum that will be paid for the VP is now £24,380,000. As we have seen, it will probably be somewhat less than that.

Anyway, as you were.

That was actually a very interesting answer. Thank you! Where did you find those numbers? I've looked long and hard on the internet to find some prices but could never find anything specific.

Interesting? Me? Are you sure @pointone ?

Since it stopped charging, Companies House has become a more accessible mine of information.

This is the link for Victoria Palace Theatre Ltd, but you can also search for anything and everything at your leisure, if you are that interested.

beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09146317/filing-history

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is up for sale (well a less than 70 year lease of a crown property).

Place your bids please!

I’m in.

They did do in-house productions for a time but reverted back to receiving and co-producing shows.

My guess for the bidders is Nimax, ATG or Trafalgar Entertainment if Panter and Squire are interested in acquiring another theatre

I don’t see Cameron buying another theatre since he’s going to spending a fair bit of money on turning the Ambassadors into the Sondheim

I do think the reasons for selling by the leaseholders blaming streaming services like Netflix and Amazon for big names not coming to the theatre is a bit suspect and all the other theatre owners haven’t had issues attracting plays with top talent. I suspect being an independent theatre operator means they can’t compete with the big boys

68 years isn't exactly short!