Regulator investigates theatre company over governance concerns

13 Jan 2026 01:30 PM

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Titchfield Festival Theatre Limited.

The charity is based in Fareham and has charitable purposes including the advancement of the dramatic arts.  

The Commission engaged with the charity in May 2024 to assess a complaint about the charity’s activities.  

During the course of this engagement, further concerns came to the regulator’s attention relating to its accounting information, outstanding accounts and potential unmanaged conflicts of interest. As a result, the Commission has escalated its engagement with the charity to a statutory inquiry.  

The inquiry, which opened on 27 November 2025, will examine the administration, governance, and management of the charity and in particular: 

• the trustees’ compliance with their statutory accounting and reporting responsibilities 
• the financial controls and financial management of the charity 
• the trustees’ decision making including their management of potential conflicts of interest in relation to related party transactions 
• whether there has been any unauthorised private benefit to the trustees and/or connected parties 
• the trustees’ oversight and management of the charity’s relationships with connected entities. 

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.   

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry’s outcomes.   

Notes for Editors: 

• The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive. The Commission has a wide range of regulatory powers which it can use to support charities and protect charitable assets. Further information about the Charity Commission and its work is available at The Charity Commission - GOV.UK. 
• On 27 November 2025 the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the charity under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 as a result of its regulatory concerns that there is or has been misconduct and/ or mismanagement in the administration of the charity. 
• A statutory inquiry is a legal power enabling the Commission to formally investigate matters of regulatory concern within a charity and to use protective powers for the benefit of the charity and its beneficiaries, assets, or reputation.

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