Edinburgh theatres face new cash crisis as revamp hangs in balance
Tw o o f E d i n b u r g h’s b e s t - known theatres face running out of money within months due to an escalating funding crisis amid fears a long-awaited refurbishment project may have to be abandoned.
The company running the Festival and King's theatres i n E d i n b u rg h h a s s u g g e s ted it is in danger of collapsing by the summer due to the £250,000 monthly running costs involved for the two venues while they are closed to the public.
Capital Theatres is trying to raise £10 million by early next year to rescue a long-awaited refurbishment of the King’s Theatre, after being forced to raid cash set aside for the project.
Chief executive Fiona Gib - son also warned that it may be forced to choose between abandoning the project or trying to save jobs at the two venues withing.
T h e w a r n i n g s h ave b e e n issued despite Capit al The - a t r e s s e c u r i n g m o r e t h a n £900,000 in lifeline funding f r o m t h e S c o t t i s h G o ve r n - ment, Creative S cotland and the National Lottery Heritage Fund in recent months.
Councillors have been told “the only feasible option” for the £25m King’s project is to ensure work can get underway “at the latest” in 2022.
Ms Gibson, who compared the future of the theatres to “a giant game of Jenga,” said cash set aside for the revamp was being used to meet the running costs of the venues while they remain closed.
She added: “Our operational running costs are £247,000 a month, we have refunded £2.8m worth of tickets and the loss of our Christmas shows has cost us a further £3.9m.
“If we had done nothing we’d have had a trading deficit of more tha n £2m by Mar c h . We’ve had more than £900,000 in funding from Creative Scotl a n d , t h e S c o t t i s h G o ve r n - ment and the National Heritage Lotter y Fund, and have also used all £435,000 of our unrestricted reserves to offset that, but we still have a deficit of £665,000.
"We’re having to use a £2m development fund we b u ilt up for the King’s project just to keep us going. That’s our double jeopardy. We may be faced
with really difficult scenarios.
“Our biggest conundrum is do we save jobs and the business or do we save the King’s project? We could probably
still manage until June, but after that all bets are off on everything.”