Cash-strapped Helix faces uncertain future

DCU president Ferdinand von Prondzynski has ruled out the possibility of a university bailout of the Helix arts centre, despite its latest accounts showing it to be in major financial difficulty.

In an interview with the College View, von Prondzynski also warned that the venue must drastically improve its finances, or run the risk of being sold off by the university.

“The Helix is in a financial and business position that simply cannot continue as it currently is,” he said.

“We’re looking closely at the business plans of the Helix so that we can continue to improve its financial performance, to the point at which it will be in a position to start repaying its debts.”

His comments come after the Helix’s annual accounts - presented to directors at their AGM in July - show that the company now has accumulated debts of over €7.3million and incurred almost €150,000 in losses last year alone.

One of the most serious challenges now facing the company is the repayment of a €4.8 million overdraft it has with Allied Irish Bank (AIB).

There was growing speculation that DCU was preparing a financial bailout of the Helix after its auditors stated in its annual accounts that “the company is to receive an injection of funds… to enable it to repay balances due to the bank and related parties”.

When pressed on the question of a financial bailout, von Prondzynski admitted that injecting university funds into one of DCU’s commercial ventures was not an option.

“There are no circumstances in which we would put university money into the Helix. If we were to do that there would be all sorts of questions as to whether we were using public money,” he said.

Von Prondzynski sits on the board of directors of UAC Management – the company that runs the Helix – along with university secretary Martin Conry and finance director Frank Soughley.

He conceded that the Helix only has two years to overturn its budget deficit before the option of selling the venue is considered.

The Helix has hosted a wide-range of high profile events in the past, including RTE’s You’re A Star song contest and concerts from acts that have included Sinead O’Connor and The Corrs.

However, its latest schedule is dominated by clairvoyants and psychic performers and would suggest that the Helix is struggling to attract high profile line-ups.

It appears that securing the company’s future now depends on the Helix generating a profit and overcoming the massive deficit it has achieved since its official opening in 2002.

The president believes that by focusing on the corporate market, the company’s financial targets can be met.

“We are developing the Helix so it becomes much more used as a conference venue, which it already is but not as much as it could be,” von Prondzynski said.