Lloyd Webber leads theatre list

Andrew Lloyd Webber now runs 13 London theatres

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been named the most influential man in UK theatre for the fourth year in a row by industry newspaper The Stage.

The 55-year-old has recently enjoyed success with Tell Me On A Sunday, with Denise Van Outen, as well as the lavish musical Bombay Dreams.

"Lloyd Webber's reputation, fame, and composing talent gives him the edge," The Stage said.

He is now working on a musical based on the novel The Woman in White.

Lord Lloyd-Webber is also the biggest theatre owner in London's West End thanks to his Really Useful Group, which owns and manages 13 venues.

He built up his empire in the 1970s and 1980s thanks to musicals such as Cats, Evita, and Starlight Express.

Lord Lloyd-Webber was knighted in 1992 and made a life peer in 1997.

Recently, he has used his weight to campaign for more help for West End theatres, complaining they cannot compete with the kind of grants being given to subsidised venues.

He has also teamed up with fellow impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh to campaign for better transport and policing in the West End.