Trustworthy, administrator
6,717
edits
Changes
2021 accounts
With the intervention rate for furlough payments dropping from 1 August 2020 the SVR made up to 40 roles redundant among salaried and zero hours staff who were unable to return to their previous roles, and for whom the Railway was unable to find alternative employment.<ref name="blaug20"/>
In mitigation, it successfully applied to HSBC for a £1.5 million loan under the CBILS scheme, which alongside its existing overdraft facility would mean £2.5 million available. The SVR Charitable Trust won a [[:Category:Lottery funding|National Lottery Heritage Fund]] grant to support the reopening of the Railway.<ref name="blaug20">[https://www.svrlive.com/blaug20 Branch Lines, August 2020]</ref> In 2020 and 2021 respectively it received: *From Wyre Forest District Council awarded the Railway £50,000 and £133,714 under its discretionary business grant scheme. It received *£555,484 and £155,231 in furlough payments during 2020> It was awarded .*£906,000 and £1,012,900 from the Culture Recovery Fund phases 1 and 3 in 2020 and 2021 respectively.<ref name="report20"/><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-59690403 'Covid-19: Severn Valley Railway gets £1m recovery grant, BBC, 17 December 2021] (Retrieved 17 December 2021)</ref>
2020 [[SVR Passenger numbers|passenger numbers]] dropped significantly from 239,723 to 59.950. Sales income reduced by £5.25m and, even after donations and grants, it lost £460,559 in that financial year. Its debt was nearly £2,000,000.<ref name=report20>SVR(H) annual report and financial statements for the period ended 3 January 2021</ref>
The [[SVR Apprentices|SVR Junior Club]], local branch meetings and buffet and dining services were suspended through 2020 and 2021.
In 2021 its February half-term, Easter and services to early April were all lost, with later reopenings for its museums and pubs. It had restricted passenger numbers until 7 September. Passenger numbers partly recovered to 122,001, and turnover to £1.99 million. Its expected loss in 2021 was projected to exceed sightly less that of 2020at 407.453 , and it was applying for net of further Cultural Recovery Fund monies.<ref name=blsep21/> Repayment of the CBILS loan started in October 2021 at £28,000 per month.<ref name="report20"report21>SVR(H) annual report and financial statements for the period ended 3 January 2022</ref>. The financial position contributed to increases in shares thresholds for [[Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC#Benefits_from_2022|shareholder travel benefits]].
==See also==
