Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is negotiating to sell four of his West End theaters, according to Variety. Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group is currently in exclusive talks with a group headed by Michael Grade, chair of Pinewood Shepperton and former chair of the BBC, and Michael Linnit. A spokesperson confirmed the talks, but added, “We have not received an offer that, at this stage, would be acceptable to Really Useful Group or Andrew." No proposed price has been revealed.
The four theaters on the selling block are the New London (1,024 seats), Palace (1,390), Cambridge (1,250) and Her Majesty's (1,216), current home of Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. The Really Useful Group would retain its half share in the Adelphi (co-owned with the Nederlander Group) as well as the Theater Royal Drury Lane and the London Palladium.