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19
Feb 2021
Welcome to Yorkshire posts losses of £200,000
The troubled tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire lost about £200,000 in two years, according to its latest accounts published this week.
The organisation, which is a limited company, was bailed out last year by Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, plus other local authorities.
Its accounts for the six months to March 31 2020 and the 18 months to September 30 2019, which were both released on the same day this week, lay bare the organisation's financial struggles in the aftermath of the resignation of its former chief executive, Sir Gary Verity in March 2019.
The organisation has undergone significant changes since the accounts were published.
The accounts reveal the organisation spent £151,568 on staff termination costs in 2018/19, which covers the period Sir Gary left. A Welcome to Yorkshire spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret the costs referred to one member of staff.
The organisation spent another £71,133 in termination costs in the 2019/20 period.
It also spent £323,000 on legal and professional fees over the combined two-year period.
Asked why the fees were so high, the spokeswoman said the figure included the cost of two independent reports by accountants BDO and solicitors Clarion, recruiting a new chief executive and other one-off costs.
It lost £127,140 in 2019/20 and £71,857 in 2018/19.
Read More:
- Harrogate Borough Council gives £31,000 to Welcome to Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire County Council approves £290,000 for Welcome to Yorkshire
The spokeswoman acknowledged it had been a "difficult time" but added the organisation had undergone "significant operational, staffing, cultural and strategic changes" since the periods covered by the two sets of accounts.
In the last 16 months it has appointed Peter Box as chairman, James Mason as chief executive, introduced an audit committee and governance panel and reduced the workforce by more than half to 24, she added.
The spokeswoman said:
Harrogate Borough Council gave Welcome to Yorkshire £31,000 last year to help keep it afloat. North Yorkshire County Council awarded it £290,000.
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