Accounting errors and 'incompetence' led to Coventry's City of Culture charity collapse

Accounting errors and 'incompetence' led to City of Culture charity collapse

3 hours ago Share Save Joshua Nevett Political reporter Share Save

PA Media Coventry's year as City of Culture in 2021 showcased the best of the arts

A series of costly accounting errors had a major role in the collapse of the charity that ran Coventry City of Culture, a BBC investigation has found. The mistakes by staff at Coventry City of Culture Trust, which were blamed on "incompetence" during internal meetings, left a £1m hole in its budget and triggered a financial crisis that led to its demise. The trust went into administration in 2023, months after it had borrowed £1m of public funds from the city council to plug the gap. At the time, bosses publicly said the loan was needed for "short-term" funding issues. But documents released to the BBC show behind the scenes it was admitted "human error" and a "failure of governance" had causes significant problems.

The trust's former CEO Martin Sutherland told the BBC he was sorry for the mistakes but argued wider pressures also contributed to the trust entering administration. In an email he said it was "hard to read that the demise of the trust continues to make an impact on individuals and organisations in Coventry and beyond". The £1m loan was never paid back and the trust left £4.2m in unpaid debts, including huge losses for a