West End producer arrested on fraud allegations

Published Wednesday 25 April 2007 at 13:15 by Nuala Calvi

Exclusive: Paul Coxwell, the producer exposed by The Stage for owing thousands of pounds to staff on the musical Personals and being thrown off West End show Underneath the Lintel, has been arrested for alleged VAT fraud.

Police searched premises in London and High Wycombe last Thursday before arresting the 22-year-old, who was interviewed and later bailed. An HM Revenue and Customs spokeswoman said the amount under investigation was “substantial”.

The news comes as the team behind Coxwell’s upcoming West End musical Some Like It Hot revealed he also owes them thousands, making it unlikely the show will open as planned this autumn.

Joanne Benjamin, general manager of The Entertainment Business Ltd, is taking legal action against Coxwell, claiming she is owed £10,000 for work carried out on the project for his company Nobody’s Perfect Ltd.

She said: “He came to us in autumn last year and we’ve been effectively working on it since November. We were employed as general managers on the show.

“He paid the first part of our fee at the end of last year and that’s it. I’ve now withdrawn from my contract with Paul. I won’t let him past the door.”

Press and marketing agent Guy Chapman also claims he is owed a “large sum” for Some Like It Hot and other productions he has worked on with the producer.

Meanwhile, Coxwell had been listing Benjamin’s Charing Cross Road office as one of his business addresses, but had never signed a rental agreement or paid rent, according to Benjamin. The premises were one of those searched by police last week.

One producer, who rents a desk in the building and witnessed the raid, said: “This morning when I came in, the officers were at the door with a search warrant. They asked where he sits.

“In fact, there’s nothing of his in here except a bit of post on the floor. He rarely came in.”

Coxwell was hailed as something of a producing prodigy, having been a recipient of the 2005 New Producer’s Bursary and set up two limited companies by the age of 19.

However, he garnered negative headlines after the tour of Personals, due to star Gary Wilmot and premiere at Blackpool Grand Theatre, was pulled last year just two weeks before opening due to poor ticket sales.

The Stage has since revealed at least seven members of the creative and technical team were left out of pocket after cheques bounced or failed to arrive.

Coxwell was then thrown off his first West End show, Underneath the Lintel, in March after “failing to fulfil his financial obligations”. He was unavailable for comment as The Stage went to press.