The British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations, says it is reviewing its assets in light of a financial crisis and may sell some works from its prestigious art collection to offset debts of around £197m.
The British Council collection comprises almost 9,000 British art works of the 20th and 21st centuries by artists such as Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Tomma Abts and John Akomfrah.
The collection has no permanent gallery, with around a fifth of works on display at any one time in the UK and internationally. The council also selects the UK representatives for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennales of both architecture and art.
Around 85% of the British Council’s turnover is earned through teaching and exams, tendered contracts and partnerships. The council also receives grant-in-aid funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), which makes up around 15% of its total income.
The council’s financial situation worsened after taking out an emergency £250m loan from the government during the Covid-19 pandemic—the outstanding debt is now £197m. The Art Newspaper understands that the commercial interest applied to the loan is costing the council around £14m each year. It has subsequently asked the FCDO to alleviate the loan and increase the government grant-in-aid funding from 2026 onwards, which amounted to £163m from 2024 to 2025.
A source close to the British Council says: “Whilst we deliver more than £1bn of UK soft power activity globally, we receive just 15% of our income from the government, compared to the Institut Français [in France] and Goethe-Institut [in Germany] which receive more than half of their income from public sources.”
Scott McDonald, the chief executive of the British Council, told The Guardian he was considering £250m in budget cuts, losing hundreds of staff and axing the council’s presence in up to 40 countries. McDonald said he offered the council’s art collection, valued at £200m, to the government in exchange for writing off the loan. The government says it “remains committed to recovering the loan once [the council’s] finances allow”.
Around 50% of the collection cannot be sold due to legal restrictions. According to The Times, McDonald recently told a parliamentary select committee that he is however “exploring what we can sell of the 50% that is not restricted”.
A British Council spokesperson says that no decisions have been made regarding the sale of the collection. “A British Council that is in retreat is a blow to the UK in the competition for influence on the world stage. We are taking all steps necessary to secure the long-term financial sustainability of the British Council, including a review of our assets,” the spokesperson adds.
The council crisis comes after the UK government announced the launch of a new Soft Power Council in a bid to boost Britain globally and drive economic growth.