Andrew Lloyd Webber says Chinese investors are looking to buy West End theatres

Andrew Lloyd Webber has said that Chinese investors could be set to buy up London’s West End theatres.

The composer told the Daily Telegraph that overseas buyers could take advantage of the precarious financial position that UK theatres find themselves in.

“There are major buyers circling around who are not British and would like to own West End theatres,” he said.

He said that during the recent sale of the Theatre Royal Haymarket the price was inflated by a Chinese bidder.

Lord Lloyd-Webber added: “So it might not just be Chinese phone networks the Government has to worry about.”

He also said the sector had received “no clarity” from the Government about how its £1.57 support package for the arts will be distributed.

The 72-year-old has been trialling measures at the London Palladium that could allow the theatre business to get back up and running after Phantom Of The Opera continued in South Korea with strict hygiene measures and no social distancing.