Museum getting back to best, says new director

THE River & Rowing Museum is getting back on its feet, says the new director.

Steve O’Connor, who took over six months ago, says he has stabilised the operation and now plans to turn its finances around.

The museum in Mill Meadows, Henley, opened in July for the first time in nine months following a
£1.1 million refurbishment which included replacing the leaking roof.

The work, together with the lack of revenue during the closure, meant it recorded a trading loss of £1,159,000 in the year that ended on March 31 last year.

The museum, a registered charity, expects to make a similar loss in the year ending on March 31 this year.

But Mr O’Connor, 42, says he remains confident that he can make it break even within three years.

He said: “I walked into the museum with my eyes open, knowing the financial woes of the place.

“It had been closed and needed to be put back on its feet and that was the allure of the challenge — to lead it back into a good place.

“It was really evident that a lack of a permanent director had a negative impact on the team and the organisation.

“The positive thing was how much those people inside and outside the museum wanted the place to succeed. I was taken aback by how many times I heard the word ‘potential’ and also people saying they were willing to help.”

Mr O’Connor, who was previously chief executive of Fulham Reach Boat Club, which he founded in 2013, said: “I really had to hit the ground running for a few reasons.

“I knew that we had to deal with the financial issues so the first thing we had to do was to be back open after being closed for nine months.

“There has been a huge investment in the building and to be able to reopen is no mean feat. What I had to do was stabilise the team and the business. When we reopened there was a little bit of corporate memory loss of how we do day-to-day business. We had to focus on costs and income and a budget is now in place to stick to.

“I have also had to put in a structure so people know things like who their line manager is and set some basic objectives because no one knew what the plan was or where we were going.”

The museum’s Thyme Café closed after less than three months following a poor hygiene rating.

Mr O’Connor said: “The café closure was my first real issue to deal with and get the new café up and running. We are very pleased to now have Lee Goodwin and Velolife here to run the Rowing Room.”

Then in early January the museum had to close again for a week due to the widespread flooding as it was inaccessible and the car park was under water.

Mr O’Connor said: “The building itself was completely fine and the foresight of the construction team in the Nineties was to build it on stilts and they did their job.

“We didn’t have water coming in through the roof or up from the ground. The car park was flooded so some of the electrics tripped but that was it.

“We were very fortunate because we know that other businesses weren’t. We just had a clean-up in the car park once the floods receded.”

Mr O’Connor, who lives in Ancastle Green, Henley, with his wife and two sons, said he was trying to improve relationships with the museum’s partners and businesses.

He said: “I am focused on growing our network, to reignite the relationships we had before and establish new links. I want people to see the museum as an asset and that we deliver on it.

“We host the Henley Business Partnership here and we have shared our journey with them and other organisations, such as the Kenton Theatre, the Relais, Leander Club and Henley Royal Regatta. The Henley College students did a ‘takeover’ day.

“We want the town to think of it as ‘our’ museum rather than ‘the’ museum.

“We will redo the Henley gallery and investigate whether we can reposition it more centrally in the museum.”

Mr O’Connor has spoken to Michael Redley, chairman of the Henley Archaeological and Historical Group, which has criticised the gallery for being tired.

He said: “I have written to Michael and the group and asked them to explain to me what they want to see from a Henley museum and what they want us to deliver when the time comes to refresh the gallery. We will involve them in that and use that expertise.

“We want to tell the story of Henley outside the boat. The regatta came in the 19th century but we have 1,000 years of history before that and we want to get those stories across.

“It’s not all about stripey blazers and the regatta, although we are planning an exhibition to celebrate Henley and its connection with the Olympics and Paralympics as we have had two Olympic regattas here. We are meeting with gallery designers to scope what it will look like but it will take time to do all the galleries, which will cost several millions of pounds.”

The museum has put its space to good use by letting it to businesses, including experiences company Humphreys of Henley.

“That’s us diversifying our income stream,” said Mr O’Connor. “It is not a normal office rental relationship. We help them by giving them free space and do any corporate tours they might want to do.

“We all want this museum to work but we have to be realistic. The objective in the next three years is to break even so what work we do now has to point towards that. We want it to be here in another 25 years.

“To reach a breakeven position we broadly need to increase our income by three-and-a-half times with the costs being broadly what they are now.

“There are still things we need to get right, such as ticket sales, retail and the shop. They all need to have a business plan and we need to diversify where the income comes from. We also need to grow our digital presence.

“We need to focus on our merits and shout about the museum more. In our target groups nine out of 10 people don’t know we exist. We want to make more people aware we are here.

“We want people to come to Henley, which is really great for the arts and culture.

“If you compare us to Marlow, you would say Marlow is known as a foodie place, whether that’s the Tom Kerridge effect or the Ivy, but Henley is an arts and culture centre where people should come and visit throughout the year. As a museum, we can lead that conversation.

“Sitting here after six months, I say that the opportunity is much bigger than the challenge.”