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The Really Useful Group (RUG) is an international company set up in 1977 by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing. The name is inspired by a phrase from the Thomas the Tank Engine series of children's stories.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Really Useful Theatre Company 1.2 Really Useful Films 1.3 Really Useful Records 1.4 Really Useful Theatres 1.5 Really Useful Music Publishing 1.6 Other interests 2 See also 3 External links

The company was set up in 1977, when Lloyd Webber, frustrated with the terms of his contract with the impressario Robert Stigwood, decided to take greater control over the management of his creative works. All Lloyd Webber compositions and productions created from that point have been owned by the company. In the late 1980s, the company was floated on the stock market, before being taken private again by Lloyd Webber in the early 1990s. A deal was made with Polygram, which had previously released the albums of Lloyd Webber's shows, but poor management of the company in the 1990s meant that when Lloyd Webber once again regained control in 1999, the profits had decreased noticably.

Responsible for the production and management of shows, mainly, but not limited to those written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Also responsible for licensing productions world-wide. In the 1990s, RUT mainly produced shows on its own, but more recently has again developed partnerships, such as the one with Cameron Mackintosh in the 1980s to produce its works.

Production of film versions of Andrew Lloyd Webber's catalogue. Until recently, these had consisted of lower budget straight-to-video versions of the shows, but 2004 saw Really Useful Films complete the major motion picture The Phantom of the Opera. It is said to be in pre-production negotiations over Sunset Boulevard. The film director Nick Morris is regularly involved with the films division.

Production of cast albums etc. Really Useful Records had an exclusive deal with Polygram to release material via its Polydor label in the 1980s, which led to the purchase of the entire group in the 1990s. Outside of cast albums, Lloyd Webber has also produced albums for Marti Webb, Sarah Brightman and Michael Ball via the label. The Managing Director of the record division is Tris Penna, who has recently overseen the remastered and re-release of a significant portion of the back-catalogue.

Owns and manages West End theatres including: The Adelphi Theatre (1/2 share), The Cambridge Theatre, Drury Lane (Theatre Royal), |The Gielgud Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, The London Palladium, The New London Theatre and The Palace Theatre.

On 11 July 2005, the company announced that it was selling four theatres (The Apollo Theatre, The Duchess Theatre, The Lyric Theatre and The Garrick Theatre) to Nimax Theatres Ltd, a company owned by Broadway producer Max Weitzenhoffer and Nica Burns, currently production director of Really Useful Theatres. Lloyd Webber invested GBP 10 million of the proceeds from the sales (which took effect on 1 October 2005) to buy out his ownership partners Nat West.

The Really Useful Group has, in the past, also set up sub-labels to cater for pop and dance acts such as Carpet Records, featuring Timmy Mallet's Bombalurina ('Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini') and Doctor Spin ('Tetris'); and It Records, home to My Life Story in the late 1990s.

• List of record labels

• Really Useful Group
• The Official Andrew Lloyd Webber Site