Future of Summerhall in jeopardy after ‘a winding up petition presented by HMRC’

The management behind beloved Edinburgh venue Summerhall has had “a winding up petition presented against it by HMRC”, it has been revealed.

In a statement on social media, Summerhall Management’s director Robert McDowell, said: “Summerhall Management has had a winding up petition presented against it by HMRC. The petition is in relation to unpaid Corporation Tax. We believe there is no corporation tax due to HMRC and have been working with professional advisors to address and resolve matters with HMRC. Summerhall Management are defending the proceedings raised and we hope a resolution can be achieved which will allow us to deal with this and move on quickly.”

Despite the petition, the venue will not cease its operations and is liaising with artists about the ongoing scenario.

It has not been an easy 2024 for the various arms of Summerhall, which is right at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and acts as a bastion for the arts throughout the year. The move comes months after the Summerhall Arts fundraising campaign (an independent charity and separate from Summerhall Management) launched a fundraiser to help guarantee future projects, after successfully preventing a sale of the site earlier this year. That fundraising campaign and Summerhall Arts are unaffected by the HMRC petition.

McDowell continues: “At this time, we must follow a very strict set of guidelines imposed upon us of what we can and cannot do, please bear with us whilst we work to fully understand the situation. The team are already in communication with those we work with who may be affected by this action, but we intend to trade as best we can, and in line with what is permissible, whilst we defend this action. The landlords, for whom we manage the building for on their behalf, have also been made aware and will be in direct communication with their tenants as required.”