The trust responsible for overseeing legacy projects from Coventry’s year-long UK city of culture celebrations has entered administration.
It has faced financial difficulties for a number of months and in October received a £1m loan from Coventry city council after reporting “short-term cashflow problems”.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the trust announced it had taken the “incredibly difficult” decision to appoint administrators amid what it described as financial challenges.
“We know that this news is devastating for many, particularly for team members and partners,” the statement said. “We are also regretful of the impact this will have on the organisations and businesses involved.
“We are grateful for the support of partners, funders and audiences, from the initial bidding stage through to today. Without the support of these people, we would not have been able to deliver the extraordinary year-long celebration of city of culture 2021.”
Coventry city of culture ran in 2021 and 2022, after its planned start date was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
The trust had planned a three-year legacy arts and culture programme to ensure a long-lasting benefit for the local community, including The Reel Store digital art gallery, which recently hosted an award-winning digital exhibition featuring the work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
The trust’s statement added: “We have not been able to find a solution to secure the future of the trust. However, we have continued to work closely with those who had pledged legacy funding, to try to protect those funds for the city and its cultural organisations.”
At the time of receiving the £1m loan from Coventry city council last year, the trust’s chief executive, Martin Sutherland, said: “We’re confident we’ll raise the funds required to pay this back.”
David Welsh, the council’s cabinet member for arts and culture, said that despite the trust’s financial problems, the city would still receive long-term benefits from having won the title, the third city in the UK to do so since the competition was launched.
“As a city I believe we are in a better position overall than we were before being awarded the national title which has to be a positive, and we will continue on that improvement journey with or without the trust,” the councillor said.
He highlighted a recent independent economic impact report that found about £172.6m had been invested into the city as a result of the UK city of culture title.
Welsh added the funding had helped to restore and improve cultural assets such as St Mary’s Guildhall, Coventry Cathedral, Drapers Hall, the Belgrade theatre and the Daimler Powerhouse.
Gary Ridley, leader of Coventry Conservatives on the council, criticised the Labour-run body for approving the loan for the trust and said the “bail out [was] rushed through without proper debate or scrutiny”. He said he wanted to know what due diligence had been carried out.
A spokesperson from the National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We are saddened by the news regarding Coventry city of culture trust.
“Our £3m funding enabled Coventry 2021 to give its communities the opportunity to become greener and more environmentally conscious. We hope a way forward can be found for the trust and would be happy to work with the city council and others to support the legacy arising from Coventry city of culture.”
