Hat Trick bosses made millionaires

Mulville has made more than £11m

The TV production company responsible for news quiz Have I Got News for You and comedy The Office has sold a 45% in the firm to city investors for £23m.

The deal has turned Hat Trick's management team into multi-millionaires overnight, with founding directors Denise O'Donoghue and Jimmy Mulville receiving more than £11m each.

Hat Trick's managers will retain a 55% share of the business and continue to run the company, valued at £50m.

City involvement in the company is expected to pave the way for the firm to be sold to a trade buyer or to be floated on the stock market.

Have I Got News For You remains popular

Ms O'Donoghue said: "The economics of television production necessitate as much creativity and flair as do the programmes.

"Building on Hat Trick's recent success in the United States... the company is ideally placed to extend its business."

Hat Trick was founded in 1986 and has produced a string of hit shows, including Whose Line is it Anyway?, Clive Anderson Talks Back and Drop the Dead Donkey.

More recently the company has produced Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars At Number 42.