THE Bristol Hippodrome has been bought by Ambassador Theatre Group as part of a £90 million deal.

The deal includes all of the Live Nation UK theatres and will give the group a total of 39 venues across the country, including the Lyceum and Apollo Victoria in London.

The Hippodrome employs 26 permanent staff and around 70 casual workers and has changed hands several times over the last 25 years.

In June this year Live Nation was put up for sale, after owning the historic Bristol venue since 2004.

Howard Panter, ATG's joint chief executive officer and creative director, said: "Live Nation Theatres is a very successful company, with first class staff and significant customer loyalty. It is also blessed with some of the world’s best producers and productions.

"Our aim is to help maintain the shows and theatres as vibrant successes. It will be a privilege to operate this additional group of historic venues."

The Hippodrome, a 2,000-seat venue, welcomed over 474,000 admissions last year and has played host to top performances recently including top West End shows We Will Rock You and Blood Brothers.

Hippodrome general manager Gary Roden said: "It is really positive news as the new owners are one of the biggest operators in the country."