Playhouse board is exploring lease sale
DERBY Playhouse's board has asked a property agent to find out how much people would be willing to pay for the theatre's lease.
Agent Savills is inviting expressions of interest in the lease in a bid to back up the board's rescue plan.
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Derby Playhouse
This plan is based on the board securing a seven-figure sum, with £500,000 of that going to creditors.
Professor Jonathan Powers, chairman of the Playhouse board, hopes the cash for the rescue plan will come from a compensation claim he has lodged against the Arts Council for England.
He claims the organisation acted outside its remit in February by using its power to effectively try to liquidate the company at a previous creditors' meeting. The Arts Council denies the claim.
To act as security against the rescue plan in case it fails, the board wants to effectively mortgage the theatre's lease.
This would involve an organisation agreeing to advance money to the board on the understanding that if it cannot pay it back, that organisation would take control of the lease and have the right to sell it on the open market with creditors getting some of the cash.
Mr Powers confirmed he was marketing the lease with Savills to find out what interest there was to give a clear view of its worth.
"We are inviting these expressions of interest to give more substance to our plan," he said.
"This is the theatre's most valuable asset and it is the duty of the board to use the asset of the theatre for the benefit of the charity and the creditors and that is what we are doing."
A spokeswoman for Savills said: "We can confirm that we are advising on this property and we are inviting expressions of interest."
Mr Powers said the lease had been marketed for only the past few days but had already attracted some interest.
The theatre building is owned by Westfield. It rents the building to Derby City Council, which in turn sub-leases it to the Playhouse board. The lease has 92 years left on it and rental payments are being made by the administrators. Previously the Playhouse board valued the lease at about £1m.
This figure has been questioned by the council.
The council has said it will put in an offer of £350,000 for the assets of the theatre if it is liquidated.
However. administrator Tenon Recovery has not yet set a date for a creditors' meeting to take place to discuss the offers.
Patrick Ellward, of Tenon, said that was because he wanted the council's offer formalised before the meeting was held.
He said he was hoping to have all the information he needed to write to creditors next week and call a meeting after that.
A spokeswoman for the council said: "We are in the advanced stages of agreeing a formal contract with the administrators, conditional upon the outcome of the creditors' meeting."
This would mean the offer would become active only if creditors voted against the rescue plan.
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by Interested Observer, Derby
Monday, November 17 2008, 12:33PM
“I recently looked up DPL at Companies House. It would appear that DPL is now managed by the Administrators. Can somebody tell by what right do the Board have to try and sell the lease when Tenon are administering the company?”
by Bleeding Heart Liberal, Derby
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:52PM
“Steve - I agree that it needs to end. The arts is not elitist, and should involve everyone. DPL simply don't appear to subscribe to that notion. Bums on seats are important, as I have said many times before. And your money is just as important as the culture vulture supping his latte and reading Tolstoy. Having read the Derby Live business plan I am confident that people like you will find something once, maybe twice a year to go and see, and this will help support the enterprise. Once the organisation is stable and sustainable, then is the time to take some artistic risks, whilst crucially not alienating people like yourself.”
by Steve, Derby
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:26PM
“BHL, you could be right and I applaud your balanced, well-constructed -and sympathetic- response.
Things can't continue as they are, and I believe that they won't. It just annoys me that one or two people, of great self-importance and limited intelligence, can't see that the situation at present does not work. They seem absolutely unwilling to concede that there may not be a big enough audience to sustain the theatre, and resort to sulfurous denunciation of others who don't agree with them. They will continue to deny any resolution which may save the institution that they love, be it a change of ownership or more popular productions.
If the Playhouse can sell tickets and fill seats, then there is a cause. If they can't, then it's time to get rid and give the space over to something more worthwhile.”
by Bleeding Heart Liberal, Derby
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:18PM
“Joanne - I did say ALL sides, and that includes DPL. I have not seen or heard anything to change my mind on those sites. Perhaps 6 months ago I was more sympathetic. It's now been proven that it's not working, and it's time to put an end to this farce.”
by Bleeding Heart Liberal, Derby
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:14PM
“Steve - I take your thoughts to be yet further evidence that DPL has failed. A theatre should survive not just through hardcore loyal supporters. It needs to engage people like you who couldn't care less for the vast majority of the year, but will still see the occasional show. You're obviously not impressed with the curent administration. Maybe if someone else came in, provided a long-term solution, were financially stable and put on productions that more members of the public would like to see, maybe you'd change your mind?”
by Joanne, Derbys
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:12PM
“BHL, as I said before, if you genuinely want to know more, contact those directly involved via Save Derby Playhouse web and facebook.”
by Adam, manchester
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:09PM
“Joanne, you consistently have confused Derby Playhouse with Derby Playhouse Limited. Almost all the people you condemn as "anti bloggers" care very deeply about the theatre and are trying to save it from the excesses and failures of the Hebden/Edwards regime. The current board hasn't so far in twelve months managed to live up to it's promises to theatre goers and creditors. It is they who now plan to try and mortgage the lease and saddle the theatre with debt it would struggle to service. The prospects for the future of the theatre are dire indeed if they are successful in this latest strategy to prolong the careers of two people and stop anyone else using the theatre at any cost. This is not a noble fight to save a theatre, it is selfish in motivation and should be seen to be so. It is simplistic and naive to think otherwise.”
by Joanne, Derbys
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:09PM
“Steve, I don't think communication is your strong point either!
Geoff- good to hear from you.
I guess the decisions will come rolling in as and when.
It is frustrating for all of us though.”
by Bleeding Heart Liberal, Derby
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:08PM
“Joanne - The issue is that you don't seem to be able to counter any of mine or anyone else's arguments. That's the reason why you end up repeating yourself. You just trot out the party line without giving any genuine thought to what is actually going on. You never answer my questions. For example: 1. Have FB friends bought tickets? 2. How will DPL raise money in the future if they can't do it? Once more you seem to think I am being vitrolic just because I don't agree with you. It's not vitriol. It's annoyance, upset, and anger that this situation has been allowed to continue as long as it has. Just as you are passionate about theatre, I am too. There are many people 'down on the ground', Joanne. DPL, along with Derby Live, DCC, ACE, creditors, ex-employees, Tenon, the amateurs, the local arts scene. I have formed my opInions from reading the situation from ALL sides.”
by Steve, Derby
Friday, November 14 2008, 3:00PM
“Geoff, good for you. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be can't please/provide facilities to suit everyones' tastes.
Joanne, it was a rhetorical question, therefore, as you didn't spot that, I've just ascertained that you can't be doing communication studies either!
I have as much right to my opinion -and to comment on here- as anyone else. I think that the space which the theatre occupies could be better used.”