Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society faces risk of losing going concern status but bosses say plans in place
The Fringe Society has filed its accounts for the year to the end of November
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society faces a risk of no longer remaining a going concern - but those at the helm say there are plans in place to preserve its status.
In accounts filed with Companies House for the 12 months to November 30, the Fringe Society reported it needs to generate a surplus in the current financial year to be able to repay a £1m loan given to it by the Scottish Government, which falls due in 2030, saying funding “remains a challenge”.
The documents showed the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of the Society, on behalf of the board of trustees, conducted a review of the major risks which were considered “in terms of their likelihood and consequence” - ranking the organisation no longer being a going concern as potential risk.
But the report listed a number of actions that could be or have been taken to prevent this including: successfully lobbying the Scottish Government for more investment; more sponsor and partnerships agreements in place; £600,000 of budget savings identified; and a Fringe-wide pitch to the TVL funding scheme.
Chief executive Tony Lankester said: “Every business - in the course of its statutory reporting - identifies any and all risk. The Fringe Society is no different, it's part of the good governance of a charity.”
He said the auditors’ statement in the accounts reassured the Board and stakeholders that the risk is “not imminent”.
He added: “And the steps detailed in the accounts mitigate that likelihood.”
The committee also evaluated the risk of the “likelihood and consequence” of the Society the becoming at odds with the Fringe and of external economic and social factors pushing prices so high in Edinburgh that the Fringe could become an “untenable option for the majority of performers, venues and audiences”.
The actions to avoid this included: ongoing engagement with venues, artists and producers; ensuring those who take part understand the strategic purposes of the festival and focusing on high quality services.
The Fringe Society reported a small surplus in its accounts for 2025-26 after restricted funding is removed, up from a small deficit the previous year.
Mr Lankester told The Scotsman the Fringe Society will have to increase its registration fees charged to artists next year, saying the charge has remained static for 18 years.
The Fringe Society has come under fire in recent weeks as artists and venue owners have criticised the organisation for becoming “too bloated”. William Burdett-Coutts, director of Assembly, last week called for an independent, third-party financial analysis of the Fringe, funded by public bodies, which he said was necessary to “preserve the future” of the festival, while Underbelly director Ed Bartlem said it had become “bloated in terms of money, the size of the operation [and] the size of the administration”.
The Fringe Society has already said it is undertaking its own strategic review, led by board members, after venue bosses said it had “lost sight of its purpose”.
The government loan is due for repayment at £200,000 per year from 2026-2030. The Fringe Society said it needs to generate the “appropriate” level of income in the next four years to both service the loan and rebuild cash reserves for wider cashflow management.
The report filed with the accounts said: "There remains little to no funding for the Fringe sector - artists, venues, Fringe Society and there is an ongoing cost-of-living crisis impacting many of our key stakeholders, notably Fringe artists, most of whom take the financial risk to bring their work to the Fringe.
“The Fringe Society has sought to reduce its core cost base, but this is not sustainable and there are significant demands from the sector for a full suite of service delivery without an increase in charges."
It added: “Even with new investment the Fringe Society board and executive will need to ensure ongoing prudent management of income, realistic projections, prioritisation of spend and ongoing recovery management. This means difficult choices on investment and service delivery may be required to ensure the viability of our organisation.”
The report said: “The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee continues to review the Society's reserves policy in light of continued challenging financial circumstances, with funding, sponsorship, donations and commercial income squeezed by a range of economic and geopolitical factors and uncertainty. The Board of Directors has adopted a multi-year economic recovery plan that aligns to the financial stability of the charity and its ability to meet its upcoming liabilities, as well as operate effectively. In order to do this the Fringe Society must continue to return a surplus and build reserves.”
The accounts showed consolidated income in 2025 was £12.8m, compared to £8.3m in 2024, while consolidated expenditure of £7.5m was incurred, resulting in an overall surplus of £5.2m, up from a surplus of £765,500 the previous year. However a significant proportion of this surplus related to restricted fund movement for the capital programme for the renovation of its new headquarters, Fringe Central, with the unrestricted funds showing a surplus of £268,744, compared to a deficit of £135,400 in 2024 when restricted fund movement is excluded.
Mr Lankester told The Scotsman it was “too soon to tell” if the Society would be likely to generate a surplus for the current year.
He said: “We saw the green shoots of a return to what things looked like before the pandemic, and our finances are tracking that. We aren’t a for-profit entity. We do need, though, to at least break even or show a small surplus in order to be sustainable and we're achieving that at the moment.”
He warned the registration fees paid by artists were likely to have to rise from the current level of between £90 and £300 for next year, depending on the length of the run. However, he said he would be undertaking a review of the structure of the fee payment for the longer-term future, citing the rising costs of services.
He said: “We've always said that the artist registration fees would be reviewed, and we'll be making an announcement about that towards the end of this year. Obviously, in the current economic climate, any increase, no matter how small, needs to be very carefully considered, we can't just throw out massive increases without any justification.”
He refuted Mr Bartlam’s claims that the Fringe Society is “bloated”, pointing to increased staffing costs due to rise in National Insurance employer contributions. However, he welcomed calls for a financial review.
He said: “The Fringe society runs an operation that delivers a vast amount of services to a very wide group of people and everyone will have an opinion on on that. I'm confident looking at our structure and our organisation that that we're not bloated. I think every organisation on the planet can look to become more efficient and is constantly looking at ways of doing things smarter and we're certainly one of them as well. But if you look at the scale of what the Fringe Society delivers and the number of of people required to deliver that, I think we we do run a pretty tight ship.”
He added: “A review that unpacks what the actual cost of participation is for audiences and artists and venues is a very good exercise because no one has that umbrella view at the moment. If we are going to try and address some of the the big underlying issues, we need that full picture.”
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