Musical theatre company, which runs eight venues in London, said healthy boost in revenues was offset. The producer of hit West End shows including Hamilton, Mary Poppins and Les Misérables saw profits dip last year as cost increases more than offset a boost in revenues.
![[Cameron Mackintosh on stage at The Royal Variety Performance 2024, 15 December 2024: he wears a dark blue suit and shirt and is standing under dramatic lighting]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/25eee3c6362f146ba2074e2476d7602a6a1418e8/1111_147_3175_1905/master/3175.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Cameron Mackintosh’s eponymous company, which runs eight venues in the West End of London including the Noël Coward and Prince of Wales theatres, reported a drop in profits from £45.4m to £43.2m for the year to the end of March 2024. The company, which is controlled by the theatre tycoon, saw a healthy increase in revenues from £185.8m to £199m.
Mackintosh, 78, who started out as a stagehand in the West End, has amassed an estimated £1.25bn fortune spinning a hugely-successful producing career into a musical theatre empire. The business credited the performance of productions including Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Hamilton, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon in the UK and overseas markets. The touring production of Hamilton, which opened in Manchester in November 2023, is booked through to January next year.
The huge popularity of star-studded shows such as Hamilton, which has prices as high as £300, has fuelled a surge in ticket prices. For the most in-demand West End shows, the average top ticket price rose by 50% between 2023 and 2024. “All key titles owned by the company are proving to be more in demand than ever and many productions are planned for the next few years,” the company said in filings submitted to Companies House.
