Sir Cameron Mackintosh picks up a profit or two

Sir Cameron Mackintosh's theatre group has defied Britain's economic gloom to increase its profits by 70 per cent.

Delfont Mackintosh, which runs seven West End venues, with hits including Les Misérables and Mamma Mia!, made £8.8 million last year. The company's turnover rose by 12.4 per cent to £31.2 million.

It is thought to have benefited from the growing popularity of live entertainment, often seen as a refuge during hard economic times.

It also enjoyed surprise hits including Enron, the musical based on the collapse of the US energy trading firm, at the Noël Coward theatre.
Delfont Mackintosh runs the Noël Coward, Prince of Wales, Gielgud, Prince Edward, Queen's, Novello, and Wyndham's theatres. They are being redeveloped, financed by a £1 levy on all tickets sold.

Sir Cameron, 64, has pledged to endow each one with enough financing on his death to stay open forever.

His fortune is estimated at between £300 million and £600 million, much of it made from shows such as Cats, Les Misérables, Phantom Of The Opera and Oliver!, which had its final curtain call last night at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

The impresario took the applause on stage with stars including Griff Rhys Jones, who played Fagin. According to the accounts for the year ending last March, the number of workers at Delfont Mackintosh grew from 423 to 438, though payments to directors fell from £1.1 million to £371,000.

Delfont owes £14.2 million, but to its parent company, Cameron Mackintosh, rather than banks.
It recently announced it was to produce a play about a royal wedding, just days after Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement.