Yoo Capital has outlined plans to restore and refurbish the Grade II listed Saville Theatre in London’s West End.
The company, which acquired the premises in October 2021, is set to convert the 110,000 sq ft theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2, into a live music venue.
The news comes after Yoo Capital acquired Holmes Road Depot and the Regis Road Recycling Centre in Camden, NW1, on a subject-to-planning basis in April this year. It plans to turn the site into an international film quarter.
The privately held real estate investment company, which is behind developments including Sky Gardens, Olympia and Shepard’s Bush Market, is in talks with Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group to make the venue its first permanent home in the UK.
Architectural firm SPPARC is leading the design process to create proposals for the space that will accommodate Cirque du Soleil and wider conversion plans. This includes plans for a boutique hotel by citizenM and an F&B offering from Incipio Group.
The Saville Theatre has been a West End fixture since 1930 and hosted live performances from artists including the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, The Who and Jimi Hendrix, before being converted to a four-screen cinema.
This week, the company launched a consultation with local groups to discuss the proposed plans and their impact on the surrounding community, after which it intends to submit a planning application.
Eric Grilly, president of the resident and affiliate show divisions at Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, said: “We see a unique opportunity to bring back live entertainment to a beloved venue with fresh content and new ideas.” He added that the group is looking forward to “joining forces with Yoo Capital and the Camden community in rethinking the future of the Saville Theatre.”
Lloyd Lee, managing partner at Yoo Capital, said: “The Saville Theatre is part of the historical entertainment fabric of London’s world-famous West End. From its origins as a live performance venue that saw everything from plays, musicals and live concerts by the Bee Gees, Elton John and the Beatles to its closure in 1970 and conversion to a cinema, the Saville remains an iconic venue in the heart of London.”
He added that the venue “has been relatively forgotten and underinvested in, compared with its sibling theatres” and other adjacent buildings, but it is hoped that the refurbishment will “optimise benefits to the local community and the West End theatrical, live entertainment and hospitality industry.”
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