Culture and Sport Glasgow Trading
A thriving council trading arm designed to fund and deliver cultural and leisure services.
In 2007 Glasgow City Council created a charitable trust – Culture and Sport Glasgow – to look after all of the city’s museums, galleries and leisure services.
Glasgow Life (a trading name created after a rebranding exercise in 2010) currently runs over 140 venues across the city including world class facilities such as Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, The Burrell Collection, The Mitchell Library (the largest public reference library in Europe), Scotstoun Stadium and Leisure Centre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the newly opened Riverside Museum, created by world renowned Architect Zaha Hadid.
In 2007 a linked trading company called Culture and Sport Glasgow Trading CIC was also established. The CIC trading arm oversees the management and development of commercial activities that Culture and Sport Glasgow cannot undertake as a charity. The creation of these two new bodies has allowed services to be delivered more efficiently, with savings over the four years now reaching more than £35m.
“The creation of Culture and Sport Glasgow has allowed us to continue to deliver key services to the people of Glasgow and to our visitors at a time of significant financial pressures for the entire public sector, ” says Director of Finance, Martin Booth. “Being an independent charity has allowed us to do things differently and to be more innovative than ever before.”
The CIC trading arm oversees the management and development of commercial activities that Culture and Sport Glasgow cannot undertake as a charity. The CIC creates income through three main areas: retail in museums, daytime catering in Culture and Sport Glasgow venues, and venue hire. This income is gift aided to Culture and Sport Glasgow to help it carry out its work.
“The CIC structure is ideal for us,” says Martin Booth. “It’s designed to create benefits for the community rather than company owners, and the asset lock enshrines that. Our profits can’t be used for any personal gain, but can be transferred to another organisation which, in this case, is our linked charity, Culture and Sport Glasgow.”
Since its establishment, Culture and Sport Glasgow Trading CIC has gift aided more than £3m to the charity with profits available to be gift aided increasing every year. In 2014, Glasgow will be hosting the Commonwealth Games – an opportunity to show off what Culture and Sport Glasgow has achieved.
“It’s an exciting time for Glasgow’s regeneration,” says Martin Booth, “and as the Charity and its associated CIC continue to grow we are delivering real benefits for the city of Glasgow.”
| Name | Culture and Sport Glasgow Trading |
| Location | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Company structure | CIC limited by shares |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Community interest statement | The trading arm of Culture and Sport Glasgow, which provides cultural and leisure services to the city of Glasgow. |
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