A year-old consultancy report examining the commercial success of Malvern Theatres has been made public.

The Preliminary Commercial Evaluation Report, prepared by Alun Bond from Artservice in September 2001, was put on Malvern Hills District Council's internet site (www.malvernhills. gov.uk) this week.

The report was commissioned to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of placing the management of the theatres in the hands of a commercial operator.

MHDC's assistant chief executive Stephen Leese, said: "The council and the Malvern Theatres Trust were in agreement that the theatres had an excellent reputation for the high quality of its programme and management and that commercial operation would only be an option if it could deliver real financial benefits while maintaining the venue's reputation for quality."

The report says the present management, under chief executive Nic Lloyd, provides "excellent value for money in comparison with other regional theatres". It suggests that leasing the theatre to a commercial operator would lead to a number of disadvantages and limitations, including losing control of the programme, reduction in arts funding and a loss of distinctiveness, all without any significant saving in revenue support. However, the benefit of bringing in a commercial operator could help Malvern Theatres Trust clear a £600,000 deficit.

As to why this report was only now being made available, Mr Leese said the council had wanted to make itself fully aware of the all the issues involved before consulting the public.