What our clients say about us

"...helps us with any specialist advice we may need"

Mark Goucher Ltd is one of the biggest names in West End theatre, with its most recent production being the 21st century stage version of popular 1980s sitcom Yes, Prime Minsiter.

Starring Henry Goodman and David Haig, the show opened in September at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.

As with all of its productions, Harris Lipman has been on hand to put the correct financial structure in place, in line with the usual practice in the theatre industry for each production to be considered a separate ‘company’.

Senior partner Barry Lewis and his team are then also on hand to audit the accounts and take care of any other financial or business-related issues that may crop up.

Mark Goucher, who is the lead producer of the show and owner of the company, has known Barry in both a personal and professional capacity for around 15 years, taking care of both his personal and company accounts.

He said: “Because investment in the theatre is fairly risky, there’s little transfer of theatrical stock and it is difficult to put a value on it, so what normally happens is each new production is put into its own, separate, limited company. This means that those who invest in that production are protected from anything that might happen with any other productions.

“Harris Lipman will always set up the new company for us and the investors’ money is then securely placed within that company – in this case Yes Prime Minister Limited. That business is then administered by my company, Mark Goucher Ltd, but the financial side is kept separate.

“As well as the initial set-up, Harris Lipman audits the accounts of each company and helps us with any specialist advice we may need. If we have any problems or questions arising, I know I can always talk to Barry about what I should do.

“Barry is very interested in the business and probably goes to the theatre more than I do, but his passion never clouds his very clear business sense – if something’s not right or if he thinks something I suggest is not going to work, he will always say so.

“I have recommended Barry to several other theatre producers, all of whom I believe are now clients of his.”

 

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