'City culture trust failure left us a huge debt'

The founder of an arts firm which is owed £1.5m following the collapse of a city's cultural trust said his firm has had to borrow a "huge amount" of money to survive.

William Burdett-Coutts, who set up Assembly Festival, said he had been left shocked when told his company was not going to be repaid any money after Coventry City of Culture Trust collapsed in February 2023.

The trust left debts of £4.2m owed to a number of creditors, which also included Coventry City Council and West Midlands Police.

Administrators recouped about £550,000, but recently moved to dissolve the organisation, meaning most of those waiting for money will not see it.

Joint administrator Mike Kienlen, of Armstrong Watson confirmed the administration period has ended and also said it would not pursue legal action against the trust, after an agreement was made with a committee of creditors.

UK City of Culture is a competition run by UK government's Department for Digital, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

Coventry hosted the year long festival in 2021.

Highlights included Ghost in the Ruins, a performance piece commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the consecration of the city's cathedral, and a performance by Pauline Black who started the year's proceedings with a song called River Rushing Flow.

"We did the job in good faith and were expecting to get paid," Mr Burdett-Coutts said.

"[It] has left us with a huge, huge debt which has almost killed my company."

His firm has been presenting shows since1981 and is one of the Edinburgh Fringe's biggest venue operators.

In 2023, he said Assembly Festival was surviving on a short-term loan.

There was an irony the company had taken on the work in Coventry in order to try to stabilise financially after the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

"Rather than solving that problem it's given us an even bigger one," he said.

He felt the organisers of the festival in Coventry did not have the resources they needed to underwrite the projects they had committed to.

He said: "The whole point of running these [City of Culture] years is to build up a fabric of work within the community and for that to carry on in the coming years, and for the relationships that are built between the city and the financial world and the cultural world to have a kind of ongoing legacy.

"Obviously that hasn't happened in Coventry and I think that's a great shame."

Peter Gillet, director of commercial services at West Midlands Police, said the force had expected to be at the top of the repayment list as it was a publicly-funded organisation.

"Disappointingly, that has not happened," he said.

He explained the outstanding money was to help cover policing costs associated with City of Culture status, as the influx of people into Coventry increased demand on services.

Mr Gillet said that despite the financial issues, the policing operation had been deemed a success.

"We're proud of the work we did over the 12 months to use art and culture to reach new audiences allowing us to have challenging conversations on topics such as homelessness, and male violence against women and girls," he said.

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