Riverside Studios enters administration

Hammersmith-based arts venue Riverside Studios is entering administration.

The venue, which features a cinema and two performance studios, is set to continue trading while under administration. During the process, it is expected a new buyer will be found to take over ownership.

Venue operators the Riverside Trust are reported to be in financial difficulties due to a debt burden incurred during a redevelopment project. Riverside Studios closed in 2014 for redevelopment before reopening in 2019, a few months before the pandemic.

“Launching the new Riverside Studios with such a huge burden of inherited debt from the building development was never going to be easy,” Chair of the Riverside Trust Board Greg Parston said.

“We had planned and expected to continue to operate with sufficient surpluses to begin to pay off some of our debt in the coming year. That was not to be, however. 

“As a result, it is the board’s view that entering administration now is the best and most responsible route to preserving Riverside for the community as the centre of enjoyment, art and learning that we have worked so hard to re-establish.”

According to The Stage, there are currently no plans to make any employees redundant, of which there are more than 70.

Administrators will be appointed over the next 10 days, alongisde the search for a buyer. The trustees’ have stated preference for a continued charitable ownership.