Bill Kenwright buys the Other Palace from Lloyd Webber

Bill Kenwright has bought the Other Palace from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LW Theatres.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Kenwright said he hoped to use the 308-seat London venue to play a “key role in growing exciting new talent, and exhilarating work”.

The Other Palace adds to Kenwright’s portfolio, which also includes the Theatre Royal Windsor, which his company manages.

Kenwright said: “Anyone who knows me, and that includes all of the current London theatre owners, knows that owning a theatre in London has never been on my bucket list. Andrew has been a friend and collaborator for more than 40 years and when I heard that he was thinking of selling the Other Palace, that mindset altered.”

He added: “The Other Palace is a theatrical hub for new and exciting work where Andrew and his team have achieved so much. I had not only produced there, but also seen other productions both on the main stage and in the studio and had always felt the big hug that the theatre itself seemed to deliver. After nearly two years of pandemic chaos, it felt exactly the right moment for a positive step and a commitment to the future.”

Kenwright will reopen the theatre this Christmas, with a yet-to-be-announced production.

“As we continue to learn, discover, and plan the next chapter for the venue and how it will continue to play a key role in growing exciting new talent, and exhilarating work, we will be bringing back an old favourite so that the Other Palace’s Christmas lights can well and truly start shining again. After these months of both literal and metaphorical darkness, it’s a nice feeling,” he said.

Kenwright’s association with the venue has seen him produce shows such as Heathers and Be More Chill at the Other Palace.

Lloyd Webber said he had “enjoyed running the Other Palace” for six years.

“It is an amazing creative facility, and I am delighted that it will continue to be in safe hands under the stewardship of Bill Kenwright, who shares my passion and commitment for developing and nurturing young talent and new work,” he added.

The theatre, then called the St James, was redeveloped in 2012, with a 308-seat performance space, separate studio, bar and restaurant, making it the first newly built theatre complex in central London in 30 years.

LW Theatres has owned and operated the theatre since 2015 under the name of the Other Palace.

Lisbeth R Barron, and the team at Barron International Group, LLC, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to LW Theatres Group in the transaction.

Bill Kenwright Ltd was advised by Phillips Solicitors and LWT Group by by Harbottle and Lewis.

The history of the Other Palace

The Other Palace is on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, which closed in 2002. Following a fire, it was demolished by its owner with the intention of turning the majority of the site into flats. However, a planning constraint meant that any redevelopment would have to include a replacement theatre.

Plans to create the UK’s first black-led theatre on the site collapsed in 2005 when Arts Council England removed £4 million of capital funding for the project because of internal problems at Talawa. Proposals to relaunch the theatre then went into limbo.

In 2009, Westminster council granted planning permission to reopen the Westminster Theatre as a ‘Menier Chocolate Factory-style’ venue.

Later that year, it emerged plans for the multimillion-pound relaunch of the Westminster Theatre had been set back until at least 2011, as planning negotiations continued between the site’s developers and Westminster City Council.

The replacement theatre finally opened in 2012, called the St James Theatre, with a new play by Sandy Toksvig and a musical created by John Caird.

The theatre was entirely privately funded at a cost of £7 million, with most invested by the site’s property developer Yolanda Limited, which was responsible for building and fitting out the theatre as part of a planning restriction imposed by Westminster council when the old venue was demolished.

The venue’s management team was led by Robert Mackintosh as joint chief executive and creative director, with David Gilmore as artistic director, James Albrecht as assistant artistic director and Guy Kitchenn as executive theatre director.

In 2013, David Gilmore and executive theatre director Guy Kitchen stepped down from their roles. No replacement for the artistic director was made, with chief executive Robert Mackintosh continuing in his role as a leading member of the venue’s creative team.

In 2015, Andrew Lloyd Webber bought the theatre and renamed it the Other Palace.