Hackney Empire: Chief Executive defends done deal
The Hackney Empire
Hackney Empire Chief Executive Claire Middleton has defended the sale of the theatre’s rehearsal space at 117 Wilton Way, which the Empire will now have to rent back.
Property developer Thornsett Group had offered the Bullion Room rehearsal area rent-free in return for a lower price than the £1.1 million it paid for the Wilton Way site, which it plans to turn into a seven-storey residential block.
Instead, the Empire will receive the full amount but pay £83,500 per year to lease back ground floor rehearsal space, which will fall from 713 to 435 square metres.
Ms Middleton said, “To deal with its debt Hackney Empire needed to achieve the maximum cash up-front price for Wilton Way.
“A much lower amount would have left it still unable to meet the majority of its liabilities and, therefore, threatened with insolvency.”
According to the Hackney Empire board, the theatre’s cash debt stood at roughly £1.5 million before the sale.
However, questions remain over how the Empire will afford to rent the Bullion Room going forward, given its record of operating losses.
Ms Middleton said that future programming at the theatre, which is closed for nine months this year, will be more focused, with artists working as curators of seasons.
The marketing department will also be restructured to explore new ways of selling tickets and exploit social media opportunities.
She said, “The Empire will have a more robust cash flow moving forward as it diversifies its income streams, makes new partnerships, controls costs and looks to the programme to make a substantial contribution to overall costs.”
The Hackney Empire will open in July for a series of concerts run in partnership with the Barbican as part of its six-week Blaze festival.
These will include Brazilian singer Céu, Congolese band Staff Benda Bilili and Balkan gypsy group Taraf de Haidouks.
The theatre also hopes to stage some performances in the autumn and will stage its popular annual Christmas panto before returning to full programming in 2011.
Previous story on the Hackney Empire.