The Stage

Exeter Northcott placed into administration against ACE advice

Published Tuesday 2 March 2010 at 15:15 by Alistair Smith

Exeter Northcott, one of the few remaining producing theatres in the south-west of England, has gone into administration.

The trustees of the theatre took the decision at an emergency board meeting last Thursday.

They claim that they were given financial information that showed the venue to be insolvent. Following this, the board appointed Ian Walker of Begbies Traynor in Exeter as joint administrator.

Chairman of the trustees Geoff Myers said: “We took this decision with a heavy heart, but when presented with the latest financial information we had no choice but to place the theatre into administration. It is to be hoped that a way can be found to effect a rescue of the theatre. In the meantime, I would encourage theatregoers to continue to support the Exeter Northcott in the knowledge that those who book their tickets while the company is in administration will, in the event of any performances being cancelled, be issued with a full refund. I have been greatly encouraged by the response of stakeholders, who have agreed to do all they can to ensure the theatre continues in some way as a performance venue.”

However, despite the board’s claim that it had “no choice” but to place the venue into administration, it is understood that this view was not shared by Arts Council England, which had attempted - unsuccessfully - to persuade the organisation to continue to trade for the time being.

Today, a spokesperson for the arts council said it was “disappointed” that the Northcott’s board had taken this decision.

The spokesperson added: “We are disappointed that the decision has been taken to place the Northcott Theatre into administration at this point. We have been working with the new management over the last two years to broaden the theatre’s programming and increase its audiences. Despite this hard work, a legacy of financial problems has recently come to light. The arts council has been working with the Northcott’s new management to understand the extent of these problems but this work is not yet complete.”

It is understood that after the most recent financial problems had come to light, the arts council had appointed a forensic accountant to investigate the state of the theatre’s finances. That accountant had not had a chance to finish the investigation before the Northcott board applied to go into administration.

Officials at the Northcott confirmed to The Stage that the venue’s next show - a visiting production of The Ministry of Fear, which is due to open tomorrow - will go ahead as planned, with its run at the Northcott until March 6. Beyond that, it is unclear what will happen.

Administrator Walker said: “In the short term is it our intention to try and ensure that all performances in the spring programme can continue and announcements will be made in the press and on the Exeter Northcott website as soon as possible. In the longer term I believe it is important to ensure a theatre can be maintained in Exeter and I intend to hold discussions with all existing and possibly new stakeholders at the earliest opportunity.”

He said anyone that has purchased tickets prior to the announcement is “unfortunately an unsecured creditor of the company”. “However, if we are able to ensure that productions do take place as planned, it is hoped that all existing obligations to ticket holders will be honoured,” he said.

Meanwhile, Equity members Equity have urged the union to do all in its powers to make sure the theatre stays open and active.

Equity officials have already been in contact with the administrator appointed by the board, and the union said further discussion will take place this week.

General secretary Christine Payne said: “We are interested not just in our members working at the theatre, but also those associated with youth theatre and incoming touring projects. After all the campaigning by Equity and interested parties in Exeter two years ago to keep the Northcott open, it would be a disaster if it was now allowed to close.”

The development at the Northcott marks the latest twist in an ongoing saga at the theatre.

In 2007 - shortly after reopening following a £2.1 million redevelopment - the venue was hit with the news that it was to lose its annual £547,000 grant from ACE as part of the controversial 2007 spending round decisions. At the time, the theatre said it would face the threat of closure if the grant was removed. In early 2008, ACE revised its decision and the grant was reinstated.

Later in 2008, long-serving artistic director Ben Crocker left the venue after ten years in charge and a new senior management team was appointed.

In October that year, the new chief executive Kate Tyrrell announced a restructuring of the organisation in a bid to save money on running costs. The scheme saw several redundancies made at the venue.