We sincerely hope that Bradford Live is a successful and profitable venue, it really needs to be not only for the interest of the council taxpayer, but for the local economy too.
The venue, which is now operated by Trafalgar Entertainment originally cost £50.5 million to build, of which £43.75 million came from Bradford Council. It matters not how you look at this, it is public money that has been spent with local council taxpayers shouldering the cost burden.
Last week (March 8th, 2025), it was announced that Trafalgar Entertainment have signed a 25-year lease agreement. The council’s total income is estimated at £17 million over this period, with an additional profit share arrangement contributing to this total. What the council taxpayer is not being told is the value of the rental agreement without the profit share, and the fact that loan payments are to be made over the 45-year life of the asset.
Trafalgar Entertainment Group Accounts.
Having looked back through the groups audited accounts, there is some cause for concern. The company is asset rich and regularly issues shares. However, every year since 2017, in which accounts are available, Trafalgar Entertainment Group has consistently reported losses.
The questions which this raise are:
- How will profitability affect the £17 million estimated income over a 25-year period. Remember, this is the maximum amount.
- Secondly, is the £17 million inclusive of forecasted inflation. £17 million today will be worth a lot less over the next 25-years. If not, then this suggests that the deal negotiated by the council with the Trafalgar Entertainment Group is good from Trafalgar’s point of view, and poor from the standpoint of the council taxpayer.
Minimum Revenue Payments (MRP) – the council’s interest cost.
Every million pounds of borrowing costs the council roughly £60,000 per annum. Trafalgar are paying a total ‘potential’ lease/rental income of £680,000 per annum, that’s around £11.3 million in MRP terms. So, what does this mean for council taxpayers?
To foot the annual interest bill of £2.625 million per annum, the rental plus additional income at £0.68 million, leaves the Bradford council taxpayer with an annual bill of approximately £1.945 million for the venue.
Let’s work this out. There are approximately 135,000 council taxpayers in the Bradford district, with approximately 6,000 households who have an exemption from council tax. That means around £14.41 of your annual council tax bill is used to finance Bradford Live, admittedly not much for many, but for some, an additional unaffordable drain on an already overstretched income.
Ticket Sales.
Every £1 in ticket sales is set to add an additional £1.40 to the local economy, or £580 million over the 25-year contract period.
That’s £23.2 million per annum, so this requires annual ticket sales of circa 414,000 at a median price of £40 per ticket. Bradford Live, on that basis the venue would need to be full 109 days of the year.
The important question to raise is just how much of this additional revenue will end up in council coiffeurs as council tax receipts or business rates? It’s certainly not going to be £580 million. All of this assumes that Bradford has a vibrant night-time economy, restaurant, bars etc, all within safe walking distance, and that an additional £23 million will all be spent in the Bradford district. Remember, train, bus and taxi fares and car travel are included in the £1.40, and we must of course assume that not all visitors will come from Bradford. Is the £1.40 per £1.00 spent realistic, or will some of the additional £580 million go elsewhere?
We really need to know how this additional spending will benefit the district, how many well-paid jobs may this create, how many new businesses may open as a direct result, above all, how much will this add to council tax receipts. It’s one thing to state that this will deliver an additional £580 million in spending, but what about the important stuff – there’s no sign of the business case or anything else for that matter, just the £580 million figure.
Calculations:
- £580 million over 25 years = £23.2 million per annum.
- £23.2 million divided by 1.4 to get the equivalent £1 ticket numbers 16,571,428.
- £16,571,428 divided by the average ticket price of £40 = 414,285 tickets annually.
Author; Councillor Bob Felstead