Festival moves base across the river to be nearer event site

HENLEY Festival is moving its headquarters to Leander Club.

The festival, which has been based at the River & Rowing Museum in Mill Meadows for five years, said it wanted to be nearer the event site on the opposite side of the river and needed to save money.

Chief executive Nick Mattingley said the move would be completed by November 2.

He said: “We have really enjoyed being at the museum — the setting is wonderful and we have been well looked after but it’s economics and practicality.

“Even prior to covid and the lockdown, we were looking at how we could operate better and more seamlessly.

“Trying to find something that was close to our event site was important.

“When we move to the event site we basically replicate that remotely and for a period of 10 days we have to move that over so there’s not only a moving cost but a cost for the infrastructure.

“By moving to Leander we can minimise that. Our core staff are going to be co-located next to the site and we don’t need to have a duplicate.

“When they mentioned there was potential space coming up at the club we had a great deal of interest. Co-incidentally, our lease was up at the museum in September.

“We were running the numbers and it became a question of economics. We have got to tighten our belt. The covid scenario has been a factor, we can’t deny it.”

Mr Mattingley said the festival had taken a “multi-year” lease at Leander and the rent would be cheaper than at the museum, It will have a space on the ground floor which he said would be useful during festival week.

He said: “To be honest, it’s pretty equitable what we have got. We have slimmed down and we’re able to work remotely.

“We are looking towards the future so we have pretty much cut our cloth accordingly.”

The festival box office will be at Leander but people will not be able to collect tickets in person as they used to do at the museum.

Mr Mattingley said that buying habits had changed to online, especially in the wake of the coronavirus.

“That face-to-face part of it has diminished substantially,” he added.

Mr Mattingley said the festival had enjoyed its time at the museum and was sad to be leaving.

He said: “It’s a painful wrench to leave what has been a beautiful setting and a very distracting outlook from our window of the Thames. We have made good friends at the museum.

“It’s great to go from one landmark to another and we hope to be there for a long time. It’s a new chapter and we’re excited for the future.”

The festival moved to the museum’s ground floor in 2015 from its former home in Friday Street, which was sold.

River & Rowing Museum director Sarah Posey said: “The museum has really enjoyed having the Henley Festival team at the building over the last five years.

“It has been a friendly arrangement between two of Henley’s biggest cultural charities and we wish them all the very best in their new home.”

This year’s festival was cancelled because of the pandemic but is scheduled to return from July 7 to 11 next year with the same line-up.