Part of the landscape: the Pavilion Theatre

A Glasgow theatre, which hosted some of the great names in entertainment has been saved after being bought by a London-based group.

Trafalgar Entertainment acquired the 1,440-seat Pavilion for an undisclosed sum in its first deal north of the border.

Its portfolio includes venues in London, Cardiff, Crewe, Hayes, Southend and Wycombe, as well as Sydney where it owns the Theatre Royal.

The company has pledged to maintain the Pavilion’s legacy and to increase the number of shows on offer.

The Pavilion opened in 1904 as a music hall and has welcomed generations of performers in comedy, music, theatre and pantomime.

Among Scottish stars to tread its boards have been Lena Zavaroni, Sydney Devine, Wet Wet Wet and Barbara Dickson.

Its line-up for this year includes Dawn French, Gareth Malone, Ed Byrne and Danny Baker.

It survived potential catastrophe in March 2018 when it was damaged by a fire in neighbouring buildings on Sauchiehall Street which destroyed Victoria’s nightclub. The theatre was closed for repairs for several months.

The previous owners, the Martin family, put the business up for sale for £3.9 million and Trafalgar stepped in after talks with another potential buyer broke down.

Helen Enright, the chief executive of Trafalgar Theatres, said the venue had untapped potential that could lead to more performances being staged there.

She said: “The Pavilion Theatre has earned its place in the city’s entertainment landscape.

“We are committed to building on that success, continuing to do what the Pavilion does best, maintaining the legacy of one of Glasgow’s best-loved and best-supported pantomimes, increasing the number of shows, investing in the building, growing audiences and ensuring a successful future for this beautiful, iconic theatre.”

Iain Gordon, who first went to work at the Pavilion in 1977 and has been its general manager since 1984, will retire with the change of ownership.