Cameron Mackintosh takes home £35.5m dividend from theatre empire
Theatrical producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh more than doubled his dividend payout last year to £35.5m, despite a slight dip in his company’s profits.
Cameron Mackintosh Limited, which produces a range of West End hits including Les Miserables, Oliver!, and Cats, reported profits before tax of £27.7m in the year to March, down from £28.2m in 2015.
Mackintosh is the ultimate controlling party of the group, which owns eight theatres in London, including the Noel Coward and the Prince of Wales theatres.
The directors expect revenues to remain steady this year, and attributed last year’s drop in profits to the closure of productions of Miss Saigon in London and Les Miserables in Australia.
The company’s other interests include the exploitation of copyright through their subsidiary MTI, which licenses musicals for performance to schools, amateur dramatic societies, and professional theatre companies.
Last year the group added the Victoria Palace Theatre to its assets, paying out £26.5m for the Edwardian venue. The hotly-anticipated Broadway musical Hamilton will have its UK debut at the theatre in November 2017.