Lowry Theatre Sees 2011 Profits Dip

THE company that operates the Lowry Theatre on Salford Quays saw £100,000 shaved of its profits thanks to a dip in ticket sales in the year to March 31, 2011.

The highest paid of those is chief executive Julia Fawcett, who earned £177,000 in 2011 - a £20,000 increase on the previous year.

Newly-released accounts for The Lowry Centre Ltd show a decrease in pre-tax profits to £69,000, down from £169,000 the previous year.

Turnover stood at £15.3m, up slightly on the £14.4m it recorded in 2010, although the directors' report claims a drop in advance ticket sales had affected the theatre during the year.

Overall, the company made a retained loss of £1.2m.

The theatre employs 300 staff and carries a wage bill of £4.7m; the highest paid of those is chief executive Julia Fawcett, who earned £177,000 in 2011 - a £20,000 increase on the previous year.

In terms of performances, the three theatres in The Lowry pulled in 484,610 people across 989 performances of 300 shows, which included its first ever £2m-selling show, White Christmas.

Occupancy at The Lowry stood at 67.1 per cent for the year.

The Lowry Theatre is 12 per cent funded by money from the Arts Council and Salford City Council and the remaining 88 per cent is self-generated.