Coventry City of Culture Trust's finances probed by watchdog

The Charity Commission has said it is looking into finances at the Coventry City of Culture Trust.

The announcement comes after it was revealed that the group responsible for delivering legacy projects after Coventry's year as City of Culture in 2021 was facing financial difficulty.

The trust is supposed to oversee a three-year programme of events but has held talks with administrators.

The commission said it was currently "assessing information".

"We have opened a compliance case into the Coventry City of Culture regarding financial concerns and are currently assessing information to inform any next steps," a spokesman said.

The Charity Commission is the government body responsible for registering and regulating charities in England and Wales.

It emphasised it had made no finding of wrongdoing and that a gap between a charity's expenditure and income was not indicative of its financial situation.

Coventry City Council has previously said the city "needs" the legacy programme and that it was "obviously concerned" that the trust was in talks with administrators.

Last year, the local authority helped the trust with a £1m loan however councillors were briefed earlier this month that it was unlikely to be repaid.

The council has defended the legacy saying the overall benefits of Coventry's year as City of Culture "far outweigh any downside".

The trust has cancelled some meetings about commissioning future projects, and there are no events listed beyond this month on the Coventry 2021 website.

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