The Phantom of the Opera closure slashes profit at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s empire
The closure of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway led to sales and profit at the entertainment empire owned by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber being slashed during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.
London-headquartered The Really Useful Group has reported a turnover of £36.5m for the year to 30 June, 2024, down from the £43.6m it achieved in the prior 12 months.
New accounts filed with Companies House also show its pre-tax profit was cut from £10.2m to £4.6m over the same period.
In its prior financial year, the group had retuned to making a pre-tax loss while its turnover had also increased.
The group said the fall in its turnover and profit was “entirely” as a result of the closure of the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, “which enjoyed an exceptional period in the run up to its final performance in April 2023”.
In the year, the group’s attendances fell from 4.63m to 3.78m while its box office takings also reduced from £304.7m to £222.5m. The figures do not include its China operations.
The group, which was founded by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber in the 1970s
Group ‘optimistic’ for the future
A statement signed off by the board said: “The long-running productions of The Phantom of the Opera in London, Starlight Express in Bochum and Cats in Japan continued their successful runs across the year.
“The group also benefited from a number of successful productions in the financial period, including The Wizard of Oz Palladium and UK tour, the multiple Olivier award-winning production of Sunset Boulevard in London, Jesus Christ Superstar productions in the US, Japan, Netherlands and internationally, The Phantom of the Opera productions in Vienna, South Korea and Spain, and the first ever Mandarin production of The Phantom of the Opera, which played to audiences in nine cities in China.”
In recent months, the group has announced upcoming productions including a new multi-year North American tour of The Phantom of the Opera beginning November 2025 with a production of Evita at The London Palladium which will run throughout the summer of 2025.
The group added: “The directors are optimistic that the continued development and exploitation of the group’s copyrights and other rights will result in strong trading results next year.”
The results come after City PM reported last month that Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LW Theatres’ pre-tax profit was cut from £21.4m to £11.6m in the year to 30 June, 2024.
LW Theatres is made up of The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The London Palladium, Adelphi Theatre, His Majesty’s Theatre, Cambridge Theatre and Gillian Lynne Theatre.
The company’s attendance increased across the six venues by 1.3 per cent to 3.3m which helped drive its turnover from £190.7m to £198.1m.
Its box office takings rose from £126.2m to £131.4m in the year while the average number of people employed by the company jumped from 471 to 590.
During its latest financial year, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LW Theatres showed the likes of Frozen, Back to the Future: The Musical, Matilda and Phantom of the Opera.