Latest news with #NECGroup
ITV News
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Council paid over £5m by NEC Group after they pulled out of Bradford Live
The original operator of a controversial £50million music venue in Bradford paid more than £5million to back out of its agreement with the council, it has been revealed. The NEC Group had been due to run the 3,800-seater Bradford Live before it suddenly announced it was pulling out in September 2024, four months before the start of Bradford's year as UK City of Culture. The decision left Bradford Council searching for a new operator for what was hailed as the biggest regeneration scheme in the city centre. Trafalgar Entertainment signed a 25-year lease to manage the site in April. It has now been revealed NEC Group paid £5.3million to Bradford Council after it withdrew from its agreement. Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: 'As people can see we secured a significant settlement from the NEC that protected the interests of the Bradford district taxpayer. "With the opening season for Bradford Live under the fantastic new operator, Trafalgar Entertainment, starting next month, we can now all look forward with excitement to a wonderful future for this amazing building.' Bradford Live, on the site of the former Odeon cinema, was initially forecast to cost between £22m and £25m and was due to open last year. But costs spiralled to £50m, with the council putting in £44m, and the venue has yet to open. It is now due hold its first gig on Yorkshire Day, 1 August. The concert, Yorkshire Calling, will feature classical singer, Aled Jones, acclaimed poet, Ian McMillan and the BBC Bantam of the Opera Choir with Bradford City legend, Chris Kamara.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Compensation paid by former Bradford Live operators revealed
The original operators of a new music venue paid Bradford Council more than £5m in compensation to end their contract, it has been opening of Bradford Live following the restoration of the former Odeon cinema was delayed after NEC Group pulled out of running the council-owned site last Group had been announced as the operator back in 2017, but were replaced by Trafalgar Entertainment, which signed a 25-year lease to manage Bradford Live in April. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has now ordered the council to release details of the settlement agreed between the two parties. A statement from Bradford Council said: "Until now the £5,371,000 figure that the NEC Group paid to the council in compensation had been withheld as it was prejudicial to commercial interests and subject to confidentiality requirements under the terms of the settlement. "The monies received from the settlement have now been deposited in the council's bank account which has consequently reduced the council's borrowing requirement."Following the successful appointment of new operators for Bradford Live, the council argued that there was no longer any commercial prejudice and it was in the public interest to override the confidentiality clause. "The ICO has supported this view and agreed that it is in the public interest to publish the financial settlement and has required the council to do so." 'Very pleased' Since the withdrawal of NEC Group, Trafalgar Entertainment has invested £3m into the venue, which the council expects to attract 300,000 people a year to the district. The opening season of events begins on 30 August with a show by comedian Bill Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: "We're very pleased that the ICO has ruled that there is public interest in releasing the settlement amount for Bradford Live. "This is the result we wanted. As people can see we secured a significant settlement from the NEC that protected the interests of the Bradford district taxpayer. "We waited for the ICO appeal decision before publishing, given that there was an agreement with NEC which made such information commercially confidential. "With the opening season for Bradford Live under the fantastic new operator Trafalgar Entertainment starting next month we can now all look forward with excitement to a wonderful future for this amazing building." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Councillor welcomes watchdog's investigation over Bradford Live settlement term
A COUNCILLOR has welcomed the Information Commissioner's Office investigation into Bradford Council's refusal to share details of the agreed settlement terms between Bradford Live and NEC Group. Last September, it was revealed that the Birmingham-based NEC Group had quit the £50.5 million taxpayer-funded Bradford Live project. At the time, a joint statement from Bradford Council and the NEC Group said: "Bradford Council and the NEC Group have agreed settlement terms to release NEC from the contract that was in place for them to operate the venue." The T&A subsequently asked the Council questions about the agreed settlement terms under the Freedom of Information Act - but the authority repeatedly declined to provide answers. The T&A therefore lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office in January, believing that the public has a right to know more about the agreed settlement terms. This week, the Information Commissioner's Office confirmed it had launched an investigation over the matter. Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, leader of the Conservative group on Bradford Council, welcomed the news. She told the T&A: "My colleagues and I have been calling for transparency regarding this site for several years now, particularly since it became apparent that the final cost to various taxpayer-funded budgets was double the original budget at over £50m. "Specifically in relation to the exit settlement for the NEC Group, we fully understand that there was a need for non-disclosure during and immediately after the negotiations to terminate the agreement, but due to the passage of time, it seems unlikely that the release of the information continues to pose any real threat to the commercial interests of either organisation." A Bradford Council spokesperson said in response: "We welcome the news that the Information Commissioner's Office has now assigned a case officer, in fact as a Council we have been pressing for this for some time. "We have nothing to hide but it is for the Information Commissioner's Office to determine what can be published. "Local political party leaders know the legal position and why the Council can't say anything further on the matter - they too are bound by commercial confidentiality having been briefed on the matter. "Bradford Live was supported by the people of Bradford and saved by the Council - it is a world-class venue with a quality operator in the driving seat. "We're delighted to have done this for the people of Bradford district." A new operator, Trafalgar Entertainment, was appointed for Bradford Live in February.
