Paisley Museum Reimagined Ltd – Charitable Trust arrangements
Renfrewshire Council · 3 December 2025
Back to Leadership Board — 3 December 2025 and its agenda
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PUBLIC __________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 3 December 2025 ________________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ________________________________________________________________________ Heading: Paisley Museum Reimagined Ltd – Charitable Trust arrangements 1. Summary This report updates Leadership Board on the process of dissolving the Charitable Trust Paisley Museum Reimagined (PMR) Ltd (SC049225) and outlines plans for ongoing donor stewardship following completion of the Paisley Museum Capital Appeal. 2. Recommendation 2.1 Members are asked to note the report and the intention to wind down Paisley Museum Reimagined (PMR) Ltd in 2026 and to agree to progressing the transfer of the Charity’s assets to Renfrewshire Council and One Ren. 2.2 Members are asked to delegate authority to the Chief Executive to complete all the necessary actions required and sign any relevant documentation to facilitate the wind up of the charity and any transfer of assets to Renfrewshire Council and One Ren. 2.3 Members are asked to note the provision for PMR Ltd administrative costs in the Council’s Annual Accounts approved on 24 October 2024 and 23 October 2025, and the subsequent application of this provision. _________________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 PMR Ltd is an independent company (Charitable Trust), established by Renfrewshire Council in 2019 to drive the Capital Appeal for Paisley Museum. PMR Ltd was officially registered as a charity by OSCR on 16 April 2019 and a small temporary fundraising
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PUBLIC team was appointed later that year. The Trust Board consists of four Trustees, Councillor Iain Nicolson, Marion White MBE, James Lang (Chair) Director, Scottish Leather Group Ltd and Bob Grant, Chief Executive of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the campaign, the fundraising team was supported by several Appeal Ambassadors who championed Paisley Museum through their networks and made important introductions. The Fundraising Manager and Fundraising Assistant moved on to new employment in 2024. 3.4 PMR Ltd trustees met most recently in May 2025 and are due to meet in November to approve the Annual Accounts for 2024-25. 4. The impact of COVID19 4.1 The pandemic and successive national lockdowns had a profound and sustained impact on the campaign and the ability of the team to meet and cultivate new relationships with High-Net-Worth Individuals, which was a main pillar of the fundraising strategy and was subsequently not realised. Paisley Museum lacks a history of philanthropy, and the Capital Appeal was a first attempt to build and nurture important donor relationships. The Fundraising Strategy, approved by the Board, identified prospective donors and Trusts and Foundations with the capacity to support an Appeal of this kind however, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, planned donor events and activities were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, and many Trusts and Foundations temporarily closed for applications. 4.2 This situation was not unique to Paisley Museum, with fundraising significantly impacted across the UK due to the pandemic and further exacerbated by the cost-of- living crisis. Research from the Charity Commission confirms that nearly all charities were impacted – over 90% experiencing negative impact, resulting from the months of frustration and uncertainty. The majority (60%) saw a loss of income. 5. Income overview and donor stewardship 5.1 Despite the challenges, £1.6 million has been raised by the Capital Appeal through confirmed and pledged income and in-kind support: - £1.33 million from 20 Trusts and Foundations, with almost all major UK Trusts and Foundations providing support and championing the Museum project, recognising the approach to co-design and community engagement as sector leading. Support includes £300,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation who will sponsor the Introductory Gallery. £250,000 from the Hugh Fraser Foundation who will sponsor the Balcony Gallery. £200,000 from the Clore Duffield Foundation who will sponsor Learning Room 1 - Paisley Museum is only the second project in Scotland to be supported by Clore Duffield, with the only other being National Museums Scotland. £200,000 from the Wolfson Foundation, £100,000 from the Reo Stakis Charitable Foundation, who will sponsor Gallery 1, and £100,000 from the Mazumdar-Shaw Philanthropy Trust who will sponsor the Studio Gallery. - £110,000 has been secured from five corporates - Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, Coats Group, University West of Scotland, Malcolm Group and Scottish Leather Group, driven through Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce,
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PUBLIC - £89,000 (incl. Gift Aid) has been raised from over 30 individual donors, and almost £78,000 in bank account interest has accrued. - £180,000 has been gifted in kind, through the provision of 16 paintings to Renfrewshire Council from Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. 5.2 Clause 4 of the PMR Ltd Articles of Association detail the company’s objects are to manage the development and delivery of the fundraising strategy for Paisley Museum and to drive the capital appeal for the redevelopment of Paisley Museum and Art Gallery. The fundraising income secured by PMR Ltd forms part of a planned suite of funding from both donors and the Council, which supports the delivery of Paisley Museum Reimagined. The income will require to be released to Renfrewshire Council, who has to date funded the build cost. 5.3 OneRen will ensure that any grant conditions attached to sponsorship and donor income and in-kind support are met as part of the latter stages of the Paisley Museum Reimaged programme in the lead up to opening in the second half of 2026. This will include reporting to donors on outcomes as required. 5.4 Having reviewed the status of prospective donors; we do not anticipate further significant capital pledges beyond that already pledged. Additionally, at the start of this year, we were advised by UK Government that the Community Ownership Fund was to close and as such, PMR Ltd was no longer be able to submit our prepared application, following our successful Expression of Interest in 2024. 5.5 The priority going forward will be to maintain effective donor stewardship and identify opportunities as part of One Ren’s wider future revenue fundraising to support the delivery of cultural, leisure and sporting activity in Renfrewshire. To achieve this, donor stewardship and management of the donor database linked to the donor website, will be transferred to OneRen, as operator of Paisley Museum and other cultural venues in Renfrewshire, maximising the opportunity presented by OneRen’s Charitable Trust status. 6. Governance and dissolution arrangements 6.1 Initial advice has been sought from OSCR with regards to the wind up of PMR Ltd. Due to clause 115 in the Articles of Association (Appendix 1), the Charity Assets, which extend to donors and the donor database, must initially transfer to Renfrewshire Council. Application to OSCR for consent is required 42 days in advance of the transfer, with evidence that the assets will only be used for charitable purposes. Following the transfer, Renfrewshire Council will be required to seek legal advice, taking into consideration the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, to assess the viability of transferring the donor data to One Ren. The transfer of assets is a key stage that must be completed before the charity can be dissolved. 6.2 The PMR Ltd Trustees have confirmed their support for the proposed arrangement and are being kept fully updated throughout the process. OneRen has also indicated their support and will be required to follow their own governance arrangements, should the proposal be approved and progressed.
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PUBLIC 6.3 Renfrewshire Council has provided support to PMR Ltd over the life of the charitable company via a Fundraising Team, comprising up to three members of staff over the period from January 2019 to July 2024. The team has been wholly responsible for securing the pledges from donors, as outlined in section 5. It was originally intended that an element of the income generated would fund the costs of the team, however this was substantially affected by the impact of Covid-19, as described above. In 2023/24, the Council made provision for the support costs incurred to date by PMR Ltd as reported in the Annual Accounts 2023/24 (£0.768m). The provision was increased to £0.791m in 2024/25 to reflect final costs incurred to July 2024 (net of VAT). The Annual Accounts 2023/24 and 2024/25 were approved on 24 October 2024 and 23 October 2025 respectively, and the Director of Finance & Resources will now apply this provision to write off the debt outstanding from PMR Ltd. For noting, the sum is detailed gross of VAT in the PMR Ltd accounts filed with Companies House. 6.4 The fundraising website www.reimagined.paisleymuseum.org will continue to be supported by the council’s communications and marketing service until the point of asset transfer, and a maintenance and hosting contract is in place. The site URL was specifically selected to build search engine ranking and value for Paisley Museum and can switch to, or be replaced by, a dedicated museum website or integrated with another at a later date. 6.5 A briefing note on next steps will be provided to the PMR Ltd Board of Trustees and communication issued to Museum donors and supporters to advise them of the intended wind up of the Capital Appeal and the transfer of data to Renfrewshire Council in the first instance. This will provide reassurance that there is no impact on pledges or donations made and no changes to any agreed fulfilment arrangements in place. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – Place Priority - Demonstrating that Renfrewshire is a great place to live, work and visit. ACTION: Delivering our ambitious regeneration programme, enhancing our culture and heritage assets, using these as a catalyst for growth and renewal across our towns, villages and communities 4. Legal – Application is required to OSCR, providing 42 days’ notice. Legal advice should be sought regarding the GDPR implications of asset transfer to OneRen at a future date. 5. Property/Assets – The stated Charity Assets will transfer to Renfrewshire Council from PMR Ltd as required by the Articles of Association. 6. Information Technology – none
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PUBLIC 7. Equality & Human Rights – The proposal does not require an Equality Impact Assessment as there is no change to Policy or process impacting individuals. 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Climate Risk –not applicable 13. Children’s Rights - This report does not cover a new policy which will have an impact on children’s rights. 14. Cosla Policy Position - not applicable Author: Head of Marketing and Communications Lucy Adamson T: 0141 487 1487