Green Room SM Ltd is a UK consultancy supporting arts and cultural organisations, charities, and purpose-led businesses with finance, operations, and strategic leadership. Founded in 2016, we’ve guided clients through some of the sector’s most demanding moments, including the pandemic, where we supported successful applications to the Arts Council Culture Recovery Fund. We combine specialist financial rigour with genuine cultural fluency, speaking the language of both the boardroom and the rehearsal room.
We’re also specialists in the UK’s creative industries tax reliefs, Theatre (TTR), Orchestra (OTR), and Film (FTR), a significant but often underused income stream, which we manage end to end from eligibility to claim. And we bring deep experience of access, inclusion, and EDI in the creative sector, working fluently with Deaf-led and disability-led organisations and offering British Sign Language (BSL) communication for clients who prefer to work in their first language.
From bookkeeping and payroll through to fundraising, interim leadership, HR, and governance, we offer joined-up support that flexes with your needs, whether you need a long-term partner or expert help with a single project.
We offer a comprehensive suite of services across four connected areas. Most clients work with us across more than one — that is the point. Finance, operations, fundraising, and governance pull on the same levers, and joined-up advice makes everything stronger.
• Day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll, and pensions
• Management accounts, cash flow forecasting, and budgeting
• Year-end audit preparation and statutory reporting
• Creative industries tax relief claims — Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR), and Film Tax Relief (FTR)
• Gift Aid, VAT, and partial exemption for charities and cultural organisations
• Restricted and unrestricted fund tracking
• Finance systems implementation, migration, and reporting design
• Operational reviews and process improvement
• Systems strategy — finance, CRM, HR, and reporting
• Policy and procedure development
• Contract negotiation with venues, freelancers, and partners
• Insurance, risk management, and health & safety frameworks
• Fundraising strategy and income diversification
• Grant applications — Arts Council England, trusts, foundations, and statutory funders
• Sponsorship and corporate partnership development
• Financial planning and reporting to support funding and investment applications
• Capital project budgeting and forecasting
• Membership and individual giving schemes
• Interim finance and executive leadership
• Board liaison, reporting, and governance support
• HR support, recruitment, and onboarding for finance and operational roles
• Safeguarding policy and Child Protection Officer support
• Access and inclusion strategy
• Staff training and team development
There are plenty of consultancies. Here is what sets us apart.
Every member of our team has worked inside arts, cultural, or charitable organisations, not just consulted to them. We understand the rhythm of a production year, the realities of project-based income, and the pressures faced by founders, executive directors, and boards.
Most consultancies are specialists in one thing. We bring finance, operations, fundraising, and governance together under one roof, so advice is consistent and decisions in one area do not undermine another.
We build systems you will actually use, write reports that get read, and offer advice you can act on tomorrow. No jargon, no off-the-shelf templates, and no hand-offs to someone less senior.
We work with clients on retainer, on interim contracts, on one-off projects, and on call. Scale the relationship up or down as your needs change.
We regularly represent client organisations at board level, in funder meetings, and at senior leadership level. We bring clarity to complex conversations and help leaders make confident decisions.
We work with a wide range of clients across the arts, cultural, and charitable sectors, including:
• Producing and receiving theatres
• Galleries, museums, and heritage organisations
• Festivals and outdoor arts
• Orchestras, opera, and music organisations
• Touring companies — UK and international
• Independent production companies
• Charities and social enterprises
• Purpose-led commercial businesses
Current and recent clients include Rich Mix, London Calling Arts, Deafinitely Theatre, Calamity Films, Complicité, Poet in the City, City of London Sinfonia, Orange Tree Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. We have also supported a range of organisations beyond the arts — including architectural, marketing, advertising, PR, and creative agencies — where the same principles of clear systems and grounded advice apply.