Meet the client
The Bluecoat is Liverpool’s oldest arts centre. It operates from a striking Grade I-listed building in the city centre, originally founded in 1716 as a charity school for disadvantaged children. Today it is a vibrant hub for contemporary arts and inclusive community engagement, providing a public programme of contemporary art exhibitions, performances, workshops, and inclusive community projects that connect artists with local people in meaningful ways. Through its trading company, the charity also operates a thriving café, an events and hospitality business, including as a wedding venue, as well as hosting artist studios and a range of independent shops.
The Challenge
The charity has a £2M turnover but has struggled financially in recent years, being hit by a combination of challenges: significant increases in utilities and building running costs, rising staff costs due to the increase in the living wage, together with grants remaining at standstill. In particular, reduced footfall following covid and during the cost-of-living crisis has challenged the ambitions for trading income.
How Adding Value Helped
Working closely together since 2017, Adding Value’s support has helped the Bluecoat to navigate and survive a very difficult operating environment. Working with the CEO and the Board of Trustees to develop the business plan and long-term financial plan, Adding Value has provided insightful information into the profitability of each of the areas of trading activities (café, bistro, arts events, weddings, corporate events, room hires and studio rentals etc), allowing clear decisions to be made around areas of focus and growth and incorporating diversification of income into the business model.
Adding Value has worked closely with budget-holders to establish a stronger understanding of the financial impact of their decisions, together with putting in place stronger financial controls to manage spend. Alongside this, we have introduced more streamlined and automated systems and processes to support this – from implementing Xero and rolling out monthly financial reporting to budget-holders, through to the introduction of procurement cards and cash-handling procedures. We have evaluated the financial viability of new projects to ensure that both financial and social results are achieved, and reported performance back to grant funders. We provide detailed rolling cash flow forecasts and cashflow management advice during times of tight liquidity.
Adding Value has taken the lead on enabling the charity to obtain two social investment loans for the charity amounting to £350,000 to support the build-back of trading activity after Covid.
During Covid, we actively led on and contributed to two successful bids for Cultural Recovery Fund grants amounting to £300,000 and over the years we have supported the Bluecoat with many other grant applications and reports to funders.
This has included supporting two separate successful bids for capital grants bids amounting to in excess of £1.4M, providing the financial modelling of the impact of the capital investment, and also the subsequent financial management and reporting of the capital expenditure projects as they are enacted.
