Lord Lloyd-Webber splits theatre group to expand on a global stage

The Really Useful Group, the theatre company wholly owned by composer Lord Lloyd-Webber, has split into two as it chases growth in the Far East through lucrative copyright deals.

Under a demerger, revealed in the company’s latest accounts, the six London theatres owned and managed by the group are now run by Really Useful Theatres (RUT).

A second company, The Really Useful Group (RUG), will develop and exploit the rights to Lord Lloyd-Webber’s back catalogue of around 460 songs and 19 musicals into formats such as film, arena tours and merchandising.

Newly filed accounts for the standalone entities, adjusted on a like-for-like basis, show that RUG’s post-demerger turnover rose by 12.3pc in the year to June 2013, from £33m to £38m.

Growth was driven by a Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour in the UK and Australia, and a strong performance in Asia Pacific and China, where turnover increased by 70pc.

However, turnover at RUT fell 8pc over the same period, from £115.6m to £106.6m. The theatres’ operating profits fell 18pc, from £10.5m to £8.6m, due to “fragmented” programming through show change-overs at two of the company’s largest theatres, the 2,500-seater Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

RUT also spent £4m on refurbishment and maintenance.

But Mark Wordsworth, chairman of The Really Useful Group, says RUT is on course to make record profits of around £14m in 2014, thanks to full programming at all its West End theatres.

Strong performers include the musical adaptations of the Roald Dahl books Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda.

The Really Useful Group has also cut its annual debt repayments from £5.2m to £2.6m, through a debt restructuring last month with new lender Handelsbanken, which replaced RBS.