£90m deal takes couple to top in Theatreland

A married couple have become the most powerful people in the West End after striking a deal to give them the country's largest theatre empire.

Rosemary Squire, 53, and Howard Panter, 59, now control 39 theatres, including the Donmar Warehouse, the Lyceum and the Apollo Victoria.

This follows the £90 million acquisition yesterday by their Ambassador Theatre Group, which they formed 17 years ago, of the theatres owned by Live Nation. The business is now valued at £150 million and is bigger than the theatrical empires of Lord Lloyd-Webber and Sir Cameron Mackintosh.

The couple, who live in Surrey, have been theatre enthusiasts since their childhood. When Mr Panter took over the Duke of York's theatre in St Martin's Lane in 1992 he became the first of the West End's owner-producers.

Since then they have used star names, from Nicole Kidman to Ewan McGregor, to attract audiences keen to see the legends of cinema and TV live on stage.

Big hits have included Patrick Swayze in Guys and Dolls and James Nesbitt in Stone the Crows.

Mr Panter said: "Our aim is to help maintain the shows and theatres as vibrant successes."