Andrew Lloyd Webber warns Chinese investors could buy West End theatres if Government doesn't help - ReadSector

Andrew Lloyd Webber has said that Chinese investors could be set to buy up London‘s West End theatres.

The composer told the Daily Telegraph that overseas buyers could take advantage of the precarious financial position that UK theatres find themselves in.

‘There are major buyers circling around who are not British and would like to own West End theatres,’ he said.

He said that during the recent sale of the Theatre Royal Haymarket the price was inflated by a Chinese bidder.

Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber has warned that Chinese investors could be set to buy up West End theatres if they do not receive urgent funding to help them cope with lockdown fallout

West End theatres, including the London Palladium (left) and Gielgud Theatre (right), were closed in March in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and are now under threat

Film director Sir Sam Mendes says opening theatres with social distancing will be like ‘pouring money down the drain’

Sir Sam Mendes says opening theatres with social distancing will be like ‘pouring money down the drain’.

Live indoor theatre and concerts can resume with the measures in place from the start of next month.

But the Bond filmmaker told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that ‘any theatre has to run at 60 per cent, 70 per cent capacity to even break even’.

He added: ‘So to run at 30 per cent capacity… basically means pouring money down the drain, money which is not there.’

Sir Sam wants theatres to reopen without social distancing at the end of the year.

‘I’m not arguing that they should reopen with no social distancing now,’ he told Today.

‘But there has to be a ‘no earlier than’ date – my suggestion is that should be early December, which gives theatres time to plan.’

He said it would be ‘up to the audience on whether they want to take the risk’, adding that ‘at the moment there’s a risk just leaving the house…’

A fund set up by Sir Sam to help workers in the theatre industry has raised £1.6 million.

The director of films such as Skyfall and 1917, and plays including The Lehman Trilogy and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, said the money will be used to support 1,600 freelancers.

However, almost 4,000 people have applied for support from the Theatre Artists Fund in one week.

Stars including Imelda Staunton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Colin Firth and Hugh Bonneville have donated to the fund, which was established with a £500,000 donation from streaming giant Netflix.

Sir Sam urged others to ‘come forward and show their support in order to help those in need’.

The theatre was bought for a reported £45 million, paid by the billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik in 2018.

This far exceeded other price tags for London theatres, including the Victoria Palace, which Cameron Mackintosh bought for about £26 million in 2014, and the Palace Theatre, in 2012.

Lord Lloyd Webber added: ‘So it might not just be Chinese phone networks the Government has to worry about.’

He also said the sector had received ‘no clarity’ from the Government about how its £1.57 billion support package for the arts will be distributed.

Lord Lloyd Webber warned that without urgent funds and a clear timeline for reopening, theatre owners will be forced to put the buildings up for sale.

The composers comments come as the UK announced it would ban Chinese firm Huawei from its 5G network.

The government had previously said Huawei could be involved in the project but it changed its mind following growing security concerns about China.

Following government advice, theatres have been closed since 16 March to help slow the spread of Coronavirus, with many warning that they will go out of business in the coming months without support.

Earlier this month, the National Theatre told their 400 members of casual staff that they will lose their jobs in a move it described as unavoidable due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, 72, has been trialling measures at the London Palladium that could allow the theatre business to get back up and running after Phantom Of The Opera continued in South Korea with strict hygiene measures and no social distancing.

Yesterday, the composer hosted a pilot performance by Beverley Knight at the London Palladium, which had strict social distancing measures in place and was at 30 per cent capacity.

It is one of a number of events to gauge the viability of live entertainment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Audience members were given an assigned arrival time and spread sparsely across the auditorium, with some rows left completely empty.

Speaking after the performance, Rebecca Kane Burton, chief executive of LW Theatres – the venue’s owner – said it was a ‘relief’ to reopen the doors.

She added: ‘I want to get this place back open, no social distancing.

‘And hopefully today has demonstrated that we run a tight ship, we know how to manage things, we have the right mitigations in place, and people just need this back in their lives.

‘Beverley needs it, the freelancers need it, the 290,000 in our industry – they need to get back into work. We are not a risk. We know how to do things properly. I’m excited.’

She added: ‘Hopefully today is the first step in showing the world, Public Health England, DCMS, whoever needs to see the evidence, we manage a tight ship.’

Last week, Mr Johnson announced that live indoor theatre and concerts would be able to resume with socially-distanced audiences from August 1 – subject to the success of pilots.

Yesterday, Lord Lloyd-Webber hosted a pilot show at the London Palladium featuring Beverley Knight with strict social distancing measures in place. The theatre was at 30 per cent capacity

But British film director Sir Sam Mendes says opening the venues with social distancing will be like ‘pouring money down the drain’.

The Bond filmmaker told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that ‘any theatre has to run at 60 per cent, 70 per cent capacity to even break even’.

He added: ‘So to run at 30 per cent capacity… basically means pouring money down the drain, money which is not there.’

Theatres will be able to open with reduced venue capacity and limited ticket sales to ensure social distancing, while tickets will be purchased online and venues encouraged to use e-tickets to reduce contact and help with track and trace.

There will also be increased deep cleaning of auditoriums, and performances will be scheduled to allow sufficient time for cleaning before the next audience arrives.

The London Symphony Orchestra at St Luke’s in London is also among the arts venues piloting new arrangements.