Deloitte’s Loughran appointed as chairman of the CBSO Development Trust

THE City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has appointed Chris Loughran, senior partner for the Midlands at accountancy and advisory firm Deloitte, as chairman of its development trust.

The CBSO Development Trust supports the orchestra’s day-to-day fundraising work, and has particular responsibility for building up and managing its private endowment  – a capital sum that is being accumulated over time through legacies and major gifts to secure the long-term future of the orchestra.

As chairman of the trust Loughran will encourage financial support for the orchestra and will champion its value to Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK.

He will also strengthen the trust with further senior appointments, and will oversee the professional management of its investments.

The CBSO’s public funding has been reduced by 24% in real terms since 2010 and the development trust is at the heart of the orchestra’s work attracting greater levels of support.

Loughran said: “Music is one of my passions, and having attended CBSO concerts since I was a child I am very proud of the orchestra in its own right, but also for everything it brings to our great city.

“Institutions like the CBSO help attract inward investment: when major companies move out of London and bring jobs and investment to Birmingham, they do so partly because the city’s cultural life makes it such a great place to live. 

“Without the CBSO, Birmingham would be poorer culturally but also financially.”

Simon Fairclough, CBSO director of development, said: “To have one of Birmingham’s foremost business leaders at the helm of the Development Trust is a great coup for the orchestra.”