Woolwich Works “on a good trajectory” after rocky start
A Greenwich Council meeting last week looked at how the arts venue Woolwich Works has been doing after a difficult opening period.
Construction costs for the venue came in around £14 million over the publicly stated budget and upon opening it quickly required a £2 million loan in 2022/23.
In an update on performance this year the Director of Woolwich Works Nick Williams stated things were improving with 45k tickets have been sold while commercial income was up and had reached £1.9m.
No safety cushion
Williams stated the venue has “no safety cushion” and “We have to earn all the money we spend”.
However since opening it has seen £2 million in loans from Greenwich Council as well as a £300,000 sponsorship from Greenwich Council company GS Plus.
Reasons given for requiring a loan was the late opening of the Elizabeth line and poor advertising/signage.
An example of advertising since undertaken are stickers attached to the rear of the a screen in Woolwich. In perhaps typical Woolwich fashion they’re now peeling off and looking tatty.
Williams mentioned an attempt to diversify revenue and stated the building is used for private events and by large companies and organisations for events.
There was mention of advertising which left a little to be desired with one outlet highlighted being the Greenwich Weekender. Yep the paper few know about and rarely spotted in the wild. Their website hasn’t been updated since June 2023.
However positive moves continue including offering a space for people to work from £10 including unlimited drinks.
Woolwich Works hopes to make a small surplus this year. Accounts for last year can be viewed here.
