Three decades ago Rosemary Squire and Howard Panter met outside of the London box office and after falling in love went on to found the Ambassador Theatre Group which is one of the largest in England.
Now, the couple has the unique pleasure of not only being known as ‘Mr. and Mrs. West End,’ but also getting crowned the number one most influential people in theatre by ‘The Stage’ publication.
Over the past 14 years the top spot was previously occupied by Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber for the most part, but the couple’s recent November acquisition of the theatre group Live Nation pushed them out ahead of all their competitors. Combining all of the venues that the acquisition gave them the couple now has an empire worth around ÂŁ150m.
Panter stated that during a recession theatre usually still does decently due to the fact that while you may give up certain luxuries such as a new car, you will still spring to go out for a nice evening out, which is evident in the fact that by the end of the year ticket sales have risen by about five percent in the West End.
At the moment the Panters own 39 venues throughout England including some key theatres such as The Lyceum, Apollo Victoria, Edinburgh Playhouse, and Bristol Hippodrome.
Mr. Panter commented that the reason the couple works so well together is because they appreciate both the need for talent on the stage and responsible business managing behind the scenes.
