Citizens Theatre under 'imminent risk' of liquidation as fears grow for historic venue

MSPs have raised fears that Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre will not have enough money to pay for a multi-million redevelopment of the historic venue to a funding gap said to be as much as £8 million.

Scottish culture secretary Angus Robertson has acknowledged the “significant” shortfall and the “seriousness” of the challenge faced by the venue, in the Gorbals area. The Scottish Government has committed £6 million to support the substantial building project but The Scotsman reports there may be restriction on how much it can help because of “acute” problems with its own capital budget.

Fears for the future of the theatre, which has been part of Glasgow’s landscape since 1878, have grown since it emerged that a planned opening date this November had been delayed with a projected completion of the project next autumn. However, the build is not yet fully funded.

There are said concerns about the Citizens, which was last open to the public in 2018, running out of money and being forced to close completely within months unless the Scottish and UK governments intervene.

Work began in 2019 on the project, which will see the venue’s original sandstone auditorium has been "wrapped" in a brand new three-storey building with a 150-seater studio theatre, a hugely expanded foyer, a new cafe-bar, improved backstage areas and new spaces for set-building, costume-making and rehearsing.

The cost was estimated at £10m when the project was first announced in 2013. But the works have taken a lot longer to complete than originally anticipated due to their complexity.

The cost of completion was estimated at around £30m early last month, when £27m in funding was said to be in place. However, the main contractor, the Kier Group, is thought to have warned the final cost of the project will be at least £37m.

Although Glasgow City Council has since stepped in with an additional £2m, this is said to be on condition on other funders helping to make up the shortfall.

Politicians have been briefed about the seriousness of the situation facing the Citizens by Alex Reedjik, general director of Scottish Opera and interim chair of the theatre’s board, which council leader Susan Aitken also sits on.

Mr Robertson was asked about the plight of the Citizens at Holyrood after a key meeting of funders of the redevelopment.

Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: “The redevelopment of Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre is expected to act as a regeneration boost to the Gorbals area. I welcome Glasgow City Council’s announcement of its commitment to provide additional funding, but that will not be enough to enable the project to be completed.

"It’s been reported that the council will not release its share of the funding until the other money has been secured. If the project collapses, its benefits will be lost to the local community.”

Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: “There risk to the Citizens Theatre is real, with the company under imminent threat of liquidation. On that basis, will the Scottish Government actively participate in the steering group that consists of representatives of Glasgow City Council, the Citizens Theatre and Kier?

“There is a major discrepancy between the estimated cost of the project, according to the theatre’s consultants, and the estimated cost according to the prime contractor.”

Mr Robertson said: “We’ve been in regular discussion with the Citizens Theatre regarding the future of the redevelopment project and the significant challenges that it is facing.

"We’ve invested £6m in the redevelopment, in recognition of the importance of the Citizens Theatre as one of Scotland’s leading cultural institutions.

"Sadly, since it got under way, the project has been hit by an unprecedented combination of events, from Brexit to the pandemic to high inflation costs, following the war in Ukraine, which has led to soaring costs.

"We all need to be aware and have an understanding of the scale of the financial challenge that is faced. Everybody is very invested in trying to find a solution, but I put on the record our recognition of the seriousness of the challenge that is faced by the Citizens Theatre and of the fact that a significant financial gap remains.

"The scale of the challenge should be obvious to everybody. That does not mean that we will not try to be as supportive as we can be, but the level of constraint needs to be better understood.

"We’re having to work within the most challenging budget that has been delivered under devolution. The situation is particularly acute in our capital budget.”

A spokeswoman for the Citizens said: “We’re hugely appreciative of the significant pledge made by Glasgow City Council to give £2m from its Common Good Fund as part of a final funding package across our stakeholders to secure the future of the Citizens Theatre.

"The pledge recognised that the theatre plays a vital part in Glasgow’s cultural offer and benefits communities across the city. The council’s commitment is contingent on other stakeholder support to reach a final funding package.

"We’re in ongoing, engaged and constructive conversations with the Scottish Government and will return to our conversations with the UK government on post-election.

"We’re conscious of the need to both negotiate best value for money while proactively bringing together the final funds required and are working hard to do so in time for the completion of construction work by the end of this year.”

A council spokesman said: “We’ll continue to do whatever we can to support the completion of this project.

"To help achieve that, have committed an additional £2 to our existing £6m for this project - albeit that this is conditional on a full funding package, capable of completing the project, being assembled. Therefore, there is a reliance on other partners to commit their funding.

“We’re actively engaged in discussions with funding partners and stakeholders, and remain focused on finding a positive outcome. The Citizens Theatre is a significant part of Scotland’s cultural infrastructure.”