Underhill announces closure
It is with deep regret that the volunteer directors of Underhill Management Company (UMC), in agreement with the trustees of registered charity Mumbles Community Association (MCA) as 100% shareholder, have taken the decision to put UMC into voluntary creditors liquidation.
The decision has been taken based on current and future liabilities, in particular business rates.
Underhill was given a staggeringly high Rateable Value (RV) of £100k by Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in August 2024 which resulted in business rates bills amounting to over £93k for 2 financial years – 2023/24 and 2024/25.
As owners of the asset, MCA thought that it could receive charitable relief on these bills. However, as Underhill is operated by UMC, a private limited company, it is not eligible for charitable relief, even though it is wholly owned by a charity.
UMC was granted 40% Retail & Hospitality Relief but, whilst this reduced the overall amount owed to £56k, this was still too high for the company to be able to pay.
UMC was set up as a private limited company to allow the construction of Underhill. This structure was required by HMRC so that MCA could reclaim nearly £600,000 in VAT on the £3.2 million construction cost. Without this VAT reclaim, MCA would have needed to raise an extra £600,000 – on top of the already difficult £3.2 million target.
Without it, the Underhill Hub and All-Weather Pitch (AWP) would not have been built.
At the time of the 2019 agreement with HMRC, no one anticipated the impact this setup would have on business rates. The situation worsened when the Valuation Office Agency gave Underhill the £100k Rateable Value.
MCA has been following the VOA’s process to challenge the RV, starting with a Check Case. This has just been completed and has led to a reduction from £100,000 to £74,500, which is still way above any comparable premises in the area. With three years of backdated rates now due, UMC still faces over £67,000 in bills.
There isn’t enough time to complete the next stage of the VOA appeal process before the rates are due.
As a result, MCA trustees and UMC directors have reluctantly decided to place UMC into voluntary creditors’ liquidation. A liquidator is being appointed to manage the closure, and the last day on which the Underhill facilities will be opened by UMC will be Saturday 12 July.
MCA is now working with funders to find a new operator or owner for Underhill. The goal is to reopen the facilities for the community as soon as possible.
UMC Directors, MCA Trustees
English