— Lord Lloyd-Webber has put the unloved New London Theatre on Drury Lane, best known as the home to Cats, but soon to be hosting Gone With the Wind, up for sale, with a price tag of about £15 million to £20million. The composer already offloaded his playhouses in 2005, and seems in the process of gradually liquidating his remaining assets. Once the New London is off his books, his Really Useful Group will still own or manage six musical theatres, such as the Palladium and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The official line is that the New London is a natural home for stage plays with its large open stage. Built in 1973, it has never been that easy on the eye, although that may work to Lloyd-Webber’s advantage: the New London is not listed, and while a theatre would probably have to remain on the site, redevelopment is possible and that boosts the site’s potential value. Drivers Jonas is handling the sale.
— Universal boss Lucian Grainge is more confident about Amy Winehouse’s future after bundling the singer into a summit meeting over her drug problem. “I wanted to do it six months ago but we had to get agreement on a strategy from the family and psychiatrists,” he said. Winehouse was told point blank that her career as a recording artist was over unless she accepted help. The bedraggled singer, known for her tottering beehive, has been playing mind games with her employers but Grainge is cannier. He has a secret “plan B” up his sleeve if she says no, no, no to rehab and blows her big night at the Grammy Awards ... and he says Amy won’t like it.
— The Local Radio Company is closely observing the possible takeover of GCap by Charles Allen’s Global Radio. Sources say the group is keen to get its hands on GCap’s local radio stations, if they come up for sale. Although the Local Radio Company’s market capitalisation currently stands at just £16 million, it believes it could fund an acquisition of GCap’s One Network, which has 42 stations.
— Three quarters of local newspapers are carrying adverts selling sexual services, in a market that the Government Equalities Office thinks is worth £44 million a year. With Guardian Media Group titles already renouncing such adverts, a blanket Government ban looks set to follow.