A successful year for the De La Warr

Stewart Drew, director and CEO of the DLWP, presented a report on the activities and achievements of the pavilion during the financial year 2015/16 to Rother District Council on Monday (July 11).

The local authority funds the DLWP to the tune of £508,430 per annum, up until 2018.

RDC funding made up 20 per cent of the organisation’s annual turnover in 2015/2016.

The report said the De La Warr, which marked its 80th anniversary in 2015, saw 430,000 visitors through the door this past financial year - up 40,000 on the previous year.

Over the 12 month period, the pavilion sold a total of 52,000 tickets to 120 performances in the auditorium, 27 of which were community groups.

Twenty-two of the performances sold out, including shows by Jack Savoretti, Paul Carrack, Eddie Izzard, Everything Everything, The Staves, Bellowhead, Public Image Ltd, Suede and Father John Misty.

The De La Warr has sold more than 4,000 tickets for its new family theatre programme during the 12 month period, while more than 9,000 tickets were sold for community and school productions and events.

Through the DLWP’s ‘learning and participation programme’, the venue delivered 103 ticketed events during the year, including workshops, courses, classes and tours.

More than 6,518 people have taken part in the DLWP’s engagement programmes.

The jump in ticket sales have helped the pavilion’s trading profits rise by 35 per cent, year on year.

The De La Warr has also attracted more than £100,000 of additional income through fundraising activity.

The DLWP found itself with a £10,000 surplus at the end of the financial year - less than the £13,000 predicted.

But Mr Drew added: “Although the improvement in the financial position is encouraging it must be reiterated that the DLWP still requires annual surpluses for the foreseeable future – almost certainly at least 10 years – to even be approaching a position of financial resilience and to ensure sustained investment in the building.”

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