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2 February 2026 |
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Report of the Director (Housing and Communities) |
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Make It York Update
Purpose of Report
1. To consider reports from Make It York (MIY) on the company’s financial and non-financial performance since the last report in October 2025. The MIY narrative report at Annex A also includes:
a. Appendix 1 (Confidential) - Management accounts report incorporating, profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cashflow forecast to November 2025. In addition, the two-year budget for 2026/27 and 2027/28.
b. Appendix 2 – MIY Business Plan 2026-2035.
c. Appendix 3 - Service Delivery Plan for 2026-27.
d. Appendix 4 – MIY Service Level Agreement (SLA) Strategic Linkages key performance data dashboard.
e. Appendix 5 – Risk Register.
Recommendations
2. The committee is asked to:
a. note the MIY Shareholder Report at Annex A and the supporting documents including Appendix 1 to 5 supplied by MIY.
b. to approve the payment of the £50,000 to the Council referred to under Annex A.
Reason: to ensure the Council is updated on the financial and non-financial performance of Make It York, its business plan and the SLA performance.
Background and analysis
3. On 14th March 2024, the Council’s Executive agreed to enter into a further two-year extension of the Service Contract with MIY[1]. A new service specification (or SLA as it is often informally referred to) was negotiated between the Council and the MIY board laid out under the following headings:
· Destination Management Organisation: promotion of York as a leisure and business visitor destination.
· Visitor Sector Development: working with visitor sector businesses to improve York centre as a destination.
· Tourism Advisory Board: convene and facilitate TAB for York and take a lead in the development, delivery, and monitoring of the new tourism strategy.
· Markets: Development of a new markets strategy whilst operating the Shambles Market and management of the Market Charter on behalf of the whole city.
· Commercial Events: run safe, sustainable and accessible event programme to support economic growth and promote York, including specialist markets, local and community events in the city centre and other key event spaces.
· City Centre Vibrancy: contribute to the Our City strategy by development of a Spaces and Places Policy that improves how the city centre works, collaborating with partners.
· Culture: Help to deliver the culture strategy along with other partners to enable an ambitious and cohesive programme of cultural development for the city covering the arts, heritage and creative industries from the spaces managed by MIY.
· Events Framework: A city-wide Events Framework consistent with the aims of the cultural strategy that enables the city proactively to identify the events that it wishes to host and attract and enables the Council to respond in an informed way when opportunities are brought forward.
· UNESCO Designation: Ensure the people of York understand and appreciate the importance of York’s UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts status and maximise its impact. Through promotion on the Visit York and Make It York Website.
4. The new SLA and the extension came into effect on 23rd September 2024. The Service Contract expires on 22nd September 2026.
5. The SLA sets out key deliverables, outcomes by which performance will be measured, and detailed delivery tasks.
6. Executive agreed that MIY should report to the Shareholder Committee twice a year as follows:
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Key Company Matters:
7. MIY have included their new business plan at Appendix 2. The new SLA has been in place since September 24. Quarterly monitoring of the service level agreement, its outcomes and outputs takes place along with tighter monitoring arrangements in the form of strategic linkages Key Performance Indicators shown in Appendix 3.
Financial update
8. As reported at Shareholder Committee in October 2025, MIY audited accounts for 2024/25 confirmed MIY as a going concern. MIY made a profit before tax of £470,853 in the year ending 31 March 2025. This strong financial performance has improved MIY total equity at the year-end to £703k. The MIY board approved a dividend payment to CYC of £50,000 for 2024-25.
9. In the current operational year 2025/26, the position at the end of November 2025 indicates MIY are ahead of the budgeted position with the forecast for another profitable year by end of March 2026. The full details can be seen in confidential Appendix 1 and the financial narrative in Annex A.
10. MIY have worked closely with officers to monitor the company’s ongoing financial position and continue to provide bi-monthly updates, to ensure early warnings should this positive financial position change.
11. The Shareholder Committee can be reassured that officers will continue to work closely with MIY to monitor the financial position.
SLA Refresh
12. Under the Service Contract with MIY, it allows for a SLA refresh each year, to ensure the SLA remains up to date and can accommodate changes if required. A report will be taken to Executive in March 2026 to consider extending the current MIY contract beyond September 2026 and the SLA will be presented as part of this report.
Legal & Governance
13. Under Article 12.4.1 and 12.4.1.(h) of the Council’s Constitution, the Shareholder Committee has been delegated authority to approve MIY’s annual business plan and approving any dividends requiring Council consent.
14. Schedule 2 of MIY’s Articles of Association published at Companies House set out the following reserved matters which require prior written consent of the Council in its capacity as sole shareholder of MIY:
a. Para. 1.25 – the adoption of a strategic business plan in respect of each financial year;
b. Para. 1.35 – permit any dividends or other distributions to be paid; and
c. Para. 1.35 – permit any dividends or other distributions to be paid; and
Risk Management
15. There are no specific risk issues arising from this report beyond those highlighted in the text.
Implications
16. There are no additional legal, HR, equalities, crime and disorder, information technology, property or other implications or decisions arising from this report.
Annexes
Annex A – Make It York Shareholder Report
Appendix 1 – Management Accounts report incorporating Profit & Loss statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow forecast – (Confidential) – To follow.
Appendix 2 – MIY Business Plan
Appendix 3 - Service Delivery Plan
Appendix 4 – MIY SLA Strategic Linkages Key Performance data Dashboard.
Appendix 5 – MIY Risk Register.
Background Papers
Shareholder Committee 13 October 2025 - Agenda for Shareholder Committee on Monday, 13 October 2025, 4.30 pm
Executive Decision 14th March 2024 - https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=66936
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Author: |
Chief Officer responsible for the report: |
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Andrew Laslett Assistant Director (Customer, Communities and Inclusion) |
Pauline Stuchfield Director of Housing and Communities |
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Report Approved |
✓ |
Date |
22.1.2026 |
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Wards Affected: All |
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For further information please contact the author of the report |
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