Coventry City of Culture Trust in 'difficult financial position'

The group responsible for delivering legacy projects after Coventry's tenure as City of Culture says it faces financial difficulty.

In the wake of 2021, Coventry City of Culture Trust is supposed to oversee a three-year programme of projects which, the council says, "the city needs".

But the trust has recently held talks with administrators.

It said it was "seeking accountancy, contingency, and insolvency advice as is appropriate".

Coventry City Council said it was "obviously concerned".

In 2022, the council helped the trust with a £1m loan, and chief executive Martin Sutherland said at the time he was confident it would be paid back.

According to a BBC source, Mr Sutherland will be leaving his role this month.

He was expected to depart in April when a new chief executive was due to take over. No replacement has been appointed, however, despite a lengthy recruitment process for the £85,000-a-year role.

Accounts recorded for the end of the financial year in March 2022 showed a funding shortfall of about £1.5m, with £20.6m of expenditure and £19.1m of income.

The trust's total wage bill added up to just under £3.8m, having increased by £1.2m from the previous financial year.

A trust spokesperson said: "The Coventry City of Culture Trust remains in a difficult financial position with ongoing cashflow issues.

"We continue to proactively work with our partners, stakeholders, funders and creditors to find solutions to these challenges and thank them for their support during this period.

"The trust's work continues, with our first legacy commission Cosy Creative continuing this February, as well as captivating visitors in the multi-award-winning Life and Work of Frida Kahlo at The Reel Store."

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: "Our year as UK City of Culture brought many positives including securing over £90m in external funding".

They added that the authority was talking with the trust "about these challenges, along with other partners, as they seek to find solutions to minimise the financial impact to deliver the legacy that the city needs".

The Frida Kahlo exhibition has been extended until 26 February, with nearly 13,000 people visiting so far.

Nicola Richardson, director of design group Vortex Creates, which benefitted from City of Culture funding, said the city needed to "keep looking forwards" and "be positive about what we've all done as part of that year".

But, she added, evaluation of the trust "can't happen in closed rooms with people sitting around the table, just bailing out more money".

She said: "If million-pound bailouts can be found for arts and culture, make sure that it is not a bailout in the future, and that actually we are continuing to invest in what brings our city joy and lifts our hearts in times of trouble.

"When we have these headline stories, everybody is quick to sharpen pitch forks and to forget the good things that have happened.

"We all need to be part of that legacy conversation because we cannot lose good things that have happened and cannot be buried under all of this."

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