Unity Trust Bank appoints administrators to Titchfield Festival Theatre after planning defeat

Unity Trust Bank has appointed administrators to Titchfield Festival Theatre Limited, the Hampshire performing arts charity, just three weeks after the organisation lost a High Court planning battle that had been central to its survival strategy. The High Court of Justice sealed the appointment on 8 May 2026.

The theatre, registered at The Lodge, Mill Lane, Titchfield, Fareham, operates as a performing arts organisation under SIC code 90010. It was incorporated in May 2012 as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital, a structure common among arts charities.

The planning dispute

On 16 April 2025, the High Court handed down judgment in Titchfield Festival Theatre Limited v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Fareham Borough Council (EWHC 833). The theatre had challenged an inspector's decision dismissing its planning appeal, a case that had run for years and sat at the heart of the charity's development plans. The court ruled against the theatre. Within three weeks of that judgment, the bank holding security over its properties had initiated administration proceedings.

Administration is a formal insolvency process in which licensed insolvency practitioners take control of a company to try to rescue it, sell it as a going concern, or realise its assets for creditors.

The administrators

The administrators' names are not recorded in the Gazette notice extract available at the time of publication. The appointment was made through the High Court of Justice under case number CR-2026-003400. Further details are expected to appear on the Companies House register as the process progresses.

The officers

At the date of the appointment, the serving directors of Titchfield Festival Theatre Limited were Alan James, appointed in May 2014, and Christopher Milburn, appointed in December 2022. Two directors had resigned in the weeks immediately before the administration. Adam Mark Feeley, who had served since September 2018, resigned on 24 April 2026, and Kevin Fraser, a director since the company's incorporation in May 2012, resigned on 27 April 2026. Alan Causer had resigned earlier, in August 2024.

Secured lender and charges

Unity Trust Bank PLC holds four outstanding registered charges over the theatre's assets, making it the secured creditor in this administration. A secured creditor is one whose debt is backed by a charge over the company's assets, ranking ahead of unsecured creditors when assets are distributed.

The earliest two charges, both created on 1 October 2015 and delivered to Companies House on 7 October 2015, cover the leasehold property known as the Great Barn office and toilet block at Fernhill Farm, Mill Lane, Titchfield, Fareham, registered under title number HP756098, and a general debenture over all present and future property, assets and rights of the company. A third charge, created on 13 October 2016, covers the freehold land at Fernhill Farm, Titchfield, registered under title number HP677937. The most recent charge, created on 30 November 2021 and delivered on 2 December 2021, covers the freehold property at 71-73 St Margarets Lane, Fareham, Hampshire, PO14 4BJ, the main theatre site, registered under title numbers HP7741 and HP59134.

Together the four charges give Unity Trust Bank security over both the freehold and leasehold properties the charity occupied.

What this means for creditors, audiences and suppliers

Once administrators are appointed, they assume control of the company and issue statutory communications to known creditors in due course. Correspondence is conducted through the appointed firm at the address listed on the notice.

Creditors wishing to establish amounts owed do so by submitting a proof of debt, the formal claim form used in insolvency proceedings to record the size of a creditor's claim.

From the moment of appointment, the moratorium under Schedule B1, paragraph 43 of the Insolvency Act 1986 takes effect. This pauses most creditor enforcement action, meaning creditors generally cannot start or continue court proceedings against the company without the court's permission.

Audience members holding paid-but-unused tickets, gift vouchers or deposits rank as unsecured creditors in the administration. Unsecured creditors are those whose debts are not backed by a charge; they are paid only after secured and preferential creditors have been satisfied from whatever assets remain.

Employees' claims for unpaid wages, notice pay and statutory redundancy are treated as preferential or unsecured debts depending on their nature and amount. Where the company cannot meet those obligations, the Redundancy Payments Service, a government body, handles certain statutory payments to employees of insolvent employers. Claims in that category are assessed through that service as part of the administration process.

The theatre's last filed accounts at Companies House were made up to 30 June 2022. Accounts for the period ending June 2023 were due by September 2024 and have not been filed, leaving creditors and the public without a recent picture of the charity's finances.