Coventry City of Culture Trust goes into administration
They had been facing financial challenges since last year.
Last updated 28th Feb 2023
The Trust which ran Coventry City of Culture 2021 has gone into administration.
They been facing financial difficulties since the back end of last year and have been in discussion with administrators over the past month.
But today in a statement, they've confirmed they've had to take the 'difficult decision' to official go into administration, less than a year after a 12 months of celebrations finished.
In a statement the Trust said;
We have been working to find solutions to the Trust’s financial challenges and to secure the future of the Trust’s legacy programme, including The Reel Store.
Despite the efforts of all involved, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to move to the appointment of administrators today.
We know that this news is devasting for many, particularly for team members and partners. 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 yearlong celebration of City of Culture 2021.
That wonderful year was delivered against all odds, and we could not be more proud of the City.
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. Details of these arrangements are not finalised, but we expect this to be clearer in the next few weeks.
Lastly, we would like to ask for kindness towards the staff team at this incredibly difficult time. We thank them for their incredible commitment, ingenuity, and achievements in delivering an extraordinary programme of activity at an unprecedented time.
Coventry City of Culture saw 12 months of unprecedented celebrations for the city. It included signature event Coventry Moves a special parade 'This is the City' and thousands of people watched various shows at the Assembly Festival Garden.
A spokesperson from The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“We are saddened by the news regarding Coventry City of Culture Trust. We worked closely with the Trust on the Green Futures programme, successfully engaging and connecting communities in Coventry with nature, landscape and parks around them.
Our £3million funding enabled Coventry 2021 to give its communities the opportunity to become greener and more environmentally conscious. It raised the bar for Cities of Culture, supporting over 170 partners and artists and reaching an audience of over 150,000 people with its green initiatives.
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.”
Following the appointment of administrators - all staff at the Trust have been made redundant.