ATG's Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire Top The Stage 100 for 5th Year

London and New York (1/2/14) ATG's Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE have topped the The Stage 100 for a fifth consecutive year, equaling the record-breaking run previously set by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. It firmly establishes Squire as the most prominent woman in British theatre of the modern era. The exclusive list, compiled annually by the industry's leading newspaper, ranks the powerhouses of British theatre.

Panter said: "Once again both Rosemary and I are overwhelmed to have been recognised in this manner by The Stage 100. It is, however, a deserved reflection of all the hard work and commitment of our wonderful team at ATG to creating unrivalled theatre for audiences throughout the UK and the rest of the world to enjoy.

"At ATG, we aim to deliver unique creative output and we have continued to do so this year. Our plans for 2014 are even more ambitious and we are looking forward to continued success across the world.

"On a personal note, this has been a year of incredible highs and this marks the pinnacle of an unbelievable year."

Squire added: "The past twelve months have been truly memorable and game-changing for our company; a year where we started to see our international ambitions beginning to flourish.

"My personal highlight was planting a flag on US soil as we acquired The Foxwoods Theatre in New York and in doing so, ATG became the first British company to own a theatre on Broadway; something Howard and I have always dreamt of. The acquisition was a huge accomplishment for all involved and we thank our incredible colleagues for helping us to finally get there."

2013 has been one of the most pivotal and ground-breaking years in ATG's 21-year history as the company's plans for international expansion started to become realised.

In May, through its subsidiary, Lyric Theatre LLC, ATG acquired The Foxwoods Theatre from Live Nation Entertainment and in doing so, became the first British owners of a theatre in the USA. The Foxwoods Theatre, the largest theatre on Broadway, is situated in a prime 42nd Street location and seats nearly 2000 people.

ATG also announced in October that an agreement had been reached for global private equity firm Providence Equity Partners to become a major shareholder in the company, having successfully reached agreement for its seventh fund to purchase a majority share from previous investors led by Exponent Private Equity. Exponent would retain a minority stake in ATG as part of the deal, and continue to work with Providence and the existing management team including ATG's Chairman, Greg Dyke and Joint CEOs and co-founders Panter and Squire.

In December, ATG revealed that it had completed a deal to acquire 100% ownership of the Savoy and Playhouse theatres in London's West End from its current partners. The Savoy had been jointly owned by ATG and The Tulbart Group since 2005, while The Playhouse Theatre had been jointly owned by ATG and the Tulchin family since 2003.

ATG also confirmed that it had completed the purchase of theatre ticketing agency, The Ticket Machine Group Ltd (TMG). The acquisition would increase the ability of both companies to market and sell tickets for great shows to theatre goers. The Ticket Machine Group and its ticketing brands would continue to operate as before, under their own names.

2013 was also the year that Panter received a Knighthood in The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2013 for Services to Theatre, attending an investiture ceremony hosted by The Queen at Windsor Castle.

ATG Production highlights for 2013 included the highly successful Trafalgar Transformed season at the newly reconfigured Trafalgar Studio 1; a trio of critically-acclaimed produced by Howard Panter and British director Jamie Lloyd including Macbeth starring James McAvoy, The Hothouse starring Simon Russell Beale and John Simm and The Pride starring Hayley Atwell and Mathew Horne.

The last 12 months also saw Zoë Wanamaker star in Passion Play by Peter Nichols at the Duke of York's, a brand new Sadler's Wells London and UK production of the award-winning West Side Story, the fortieth anniversary production of The Rocky Horror Show, UK productions of Ghost the Musical and Priscilla Queen of the Desert starring Jason Donovan, the continued success of Monty Python's Spamalot in the West End and 10 FFE produced regional record-breaking pantomimes starring the likes of Jo Brand, Ashleigh and Pudsey, Warwick Davis and Henry Winkler. A multi award-winning production of Legally Blonde in Australia and a critically acclaimed production of Dolly Parton's musical 9 to 5.

Throughout 2013 ATG continued to invest in productions Stateside including Betrayal with Daniel Craig, Rachel Weitz and Rafe Spall, Lucky Guy with Tom Hanks, Richard III/Twelfth Night with Mark Rylance, The Sunshine Boys with Danny DeVito, Matilda, The Testament of Mary with Fiona Shaw and A Raisin in the Sun with Denzel Washington and Diahann Carroll.

Upcoming highlights for 2014 will include the inaugural production from Jerry Mitchell Productions, a major new musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound, Samantha Bond and Katherine Kingsley opening at the Savoy Theatre in March, the transfer of ATG's co-production of Jersey Boys to the Piccadilly Theatre, UK productions of Tonight's the Night and Rock of Ages (opening in Manchester in April 2014) and a new production of The Rocky Horror Show in Australia. Also in 2014, a unique partnership between ATG and Bristol Old Vic and separately with Glasgow's Citizen's Theatre, to commission and develop new musicals together.

About Ambassador Theatre Group: Co-founded by Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE in 1992, ATG has grown to be the world's number one live-theatre group with a total of 40 venues in Britain and on Broadway and an internationally recognised award-winning theatre producer with co-productions in New York, across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It is also a leader in theatre ticketing services (ATG Tickets).

ATG performs to more customers than any other theatre company bringing compelling musicals and plays to almost a quarter of the UK population (including over 6 million households.)

ATG Tickets issues more than 10 million tickets annually and www.atgtickets.com is the UK's most visited theatre website with 120 million page views and 20 million unique visits per annum. ATG also boasts the UK's largest theatre membership scheme, ATG TheatreCard, with over 100,000 members.

ATG presents over 30 productions a year with ever-increasing contributions from its partner companies, Sonia Friedman Productions (SFP) and First Family Entertainment (FFE) and production partnerships including Jerry Mitchell Productions and Jamie Lloyd Productions.

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