An influential member of the House of Lords is sounding the alarm about a potential conflict of interest that could allow wealthy individuals and corporate entities to reap substantial profits from reselling seats they own at the esteemed Royal Albert Hall, one of Britain’s most iconic performance venues and a registered charity. The peer, Lord Robin Hodgson, warns that impending changes to the governance structure will give the Hall’s trustees, the majority of whom are seat holders themselves, expanded powers to designate more events as open to seat holder ticket resales – enabling them to earn what he terms “nice little earners” by offering those tickets on commercial ticket exchange sites like Viagogo at hugely inflated prices.
Concerns Over Trustee Conflict of Interest
At the crux of the issue is the composition of the Royal Albert Hall’s Council, the venue’s governing body. Of the Council’s 25 trustees, 19 are seat holders – meaning they own one or more of the Hall’s 1,268 privately-held seats. The remaining 5,272 seats are the property of the Hall itself. With seat holders comprising such a significant majority of the Council, Lord Hodgson and other critics argue that the trustees are now effectively empowered to make decisions in their own financial interests rather than in service of the charity’s mission.
The inbuilt majority of seat-holders on the council of trustees gives rise to a situation that plainly breaks the cardinal rule of charity trusteeship: that trustees must not benefit personally from decisions they take as trustees.
Lord Robin Hodgson
Seat Holders Cashing in on Resales
While the Royal Albert Hall has long relied on a mix of public and privately-held seating, with the latter originally used to finance the building’s construction in the 19th century, the practice of seat holders reselling their tickets for profit is a more recent and controversial phenomenon. Currently, seat holders who choose not to use their tickets for a given event have the option to return them to the box office for a refund of the face value minus a 10% administrative fee. However, many are now bypassing this system and instead offering their tickets on resale sites, sometimes at markups of over 2,000%.
In 2023, seat-holders’ tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert with a face value of £200 were being offered on a resale site for up to £6,000, prompting objections from the star. Seats for the Last Night of the Proms with a face value of £100 have been resold on commercial sites for more than £1,000.
Proposed Reforms to Curb Abuses
To address this issue, Lord Hodgson has proposed an amendment to the Royal Albert Hall Bill currently under consideration in Parliament. His reform would require decisions related to ticketing and seat holder privileges to be approved by a new subcommittee comprised solely of independent trustees with no personal stake in the private seats. Additionally, it would mandate that any seat holder tickets being resold must be processed through the venue’s own box office rather than external commercial platforms.
- Key proposal: Subcommittee of independent trustees to approve ticketing decisions
- Additional reform: Resold seat holder tickets must go through RAH box office
Charity Commission “Significantly Concerned”
The proposed changes come amidst increasing scrutiny of the Hall’s governance by the Charity Commission, the UK’s charities regulator. In a recent letter to Lord Hodgson, the Commission characterized the Royal Albert Hall’s “failure to resolve the potential conflict of interest to date” as “of significant concern” and reiterated its position that the Hall must act urgently to address issues with its trustee structure and ticket resale practices.
The commission had made it clear that the RAH should “address the significant concerns that have been raised about its governance”.
Charity Commission
A Defining Moment for an Iconic Institution
As the debate over the Hall’s future governance and the conduct of its trustees intensifies, the stakes are high. As a Grade I listed building and the host of such quintessentially British traditions as the Proms, the Royal Albert Hall holds a singular place in the cultural life of the nation. In the words of Lord Hodgson, it is a “great national institution, home to many of the most iconic events in our nation’s cultural calendar.”
At the same time, the Hall’s status as a registered charity means that it must be run in a way that puts the public good above any private interests. The current furor over trustee conflicts of interest and ticket resale practices has thrown this core principle into question. By adopting the robust reforms proposed by Lord Hodgson and demanded by the Charity Commission, the Royal Albert Hall has an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to its charitable mission and ensure that it can continue to fulfill its unique role at the heart of British cultural life for generations to come.
