Glasgow King's Theatre in talks over new lease to attract larger productions

Talks over a new lease for Glasgow’s King’s Theatre have been given the green light, potentially paving the way for “significant” investment.

The city’s largest-capacity theatre needs investment to bring it up to the standard required to host the biggest touring shows.

Glasgow City Council, which owns the A-listed venue on Bath Street, are working with the operators, ATG Entertainment (ATG), on expansion plans.

Councillors, who approved negotiations over a new long-term lease on Thursday, were told the deal would provide security to ATG board members. This could lead to a “significant level of capital investment” in a redevelopment project, an official said.

Cllr Ruairi Kelly, SNP, the council’s convener for housing, development, built heritage and land use, asked whether the new lease was related to the “potential of proposals for the expansion of the King’s Theatre”.

“I know they have been talking about the limitations with some of the more modern shows. Given we’ve got quite a burgeoning art scene, this is the sort of thing that we can do to support bringing some of those larger productions into the city.”

An official said: “A lot of the potential development would be about back of house, and it’s about allowing these larger productions to have the equipment and machinery they need to allow those to be put on. That is the intent of the lease.”

In 2023, councillors agreed to include an exclusivity agreement in a new short-term lease for the theatre. It ensured the council couldn’t take “any other expressions of interest in managing or running the theatre”.

A longer-term lease renewal was expected once a redevelopment plan had been made. The current lease ends in 2029.

Another official said if the redevelopment goes ahead, ATG would be “bringing a significant level of capital investment to the table”.

“In order for their board to be comfortable with that, they need security of tenure, so whilst it would have been our preference perhaps to wait until the redevelopment to extend the lease, there is a reason for us now to offer this lease extension at this stage.”

He added the ATG board would have “the confidence that they’ve got security over that building for a long period of time, which will enable them to bring the capital funding to the table”.

The council transferred the theatre’s day-to-day management to Glasgow Theatres Ltd (GTL), part of ATG, in 2002. It was the firm’s first venue in Scotland, although they now also manage the Theatre Royal in Glasgow as well as the Edinburgh Playhouse.

A report to Thursday’s meeting stated: “The theatre opened in 1904 and sits in a confined footprint. It is increasingly unable to present the larger productions, which are becoming both more numerous and desirable.

“This means the King’s will lose its key status without investment and a programme of change, and those highest profile shows will, for the most part, only be able to be accommodated in Edinburgh due to the significantly lower seating capacity at the Theatre Royal, which makes it economically unviable for most producers of these ‘premium’ productions.”

A future paper is expected to be presented to provide more information on “discussions regarding the future redevelopment of the theatre” now the authority to start lease negotiations has been granted.

The report added that GTL has carried out restoration and improvement work, including new carpet in the auditorium, a new orchestra pit railing and preparations for the installation of air conditioning.

King’s Theatre attracts over 450,000 visitors annually, driving footfall in the city centre and supporting local businesses, it added.