The Really Useful Group, the entertainment empire owned by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, has seen a significant drop in sales and profit during its latest financial year due to the closure of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
The London-based company reported a turnover of £36.5m for the year ending 30 June, 2024, a decrease from the previous year's £43.6m, as reported by City AM.
Companies House filings also reveal that pre-tax profit fell from £10.2m to £4.6m over the same period.
The group attributed the decline in turnover and profit entirely to the closure of the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, which had enjoyed a successful run until its final performance in April 2023.
Over the course of the year, the group saw a drop in attendance from 4.63m to 3.78m, and box office takings also decreased from £304.7m to £222.5m. These figures do not include the group's operations in China.
Group 'optimistic' for the future
Despite these challenges, the board remains optimistic about the future, noting the continued success of long-running productions such as The Phantom of the Opera in London, Starlight Express in Bochum, and Cats in Japan.
"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."
Recently, the company unveiled plans for future productions such as a new multi-year North American tour of The Phantom of the Opera starting November 2025 and a summer-long run of Evita at The London Palladium in 2025.
The company expressed confidence with the statement: "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."
These findings follow a report by City AM from the previous month disclosing that profits before tax for Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's LW Theatres were down from £21.4m to £11.6m for the year ending 30 June, 2024.
LW Theatres consists of prominent venues including The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The London Palladium, Adelphi Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre, Cambridge Theatre and Gillian Lynne Theatre.
The enterprise noted an uptick in attendance across its six venues by 1.3% to 3.3 million, which contributed to an increase in turnover from £190.7m to £198.1m.
The company's box office earnings increased from £126.2m to £131.4m over the year, while its workforce expanded from 471 to 590 employees.
In its most recent financial year, Andrew Lloyd Webber's LW Theatres showcased a variety of popular shows including Frozen, Back to the Future: The Musical, Matilda and Phantom of the Opera.
