The Financial Times takes a look at the Tate’s finances particularly the losses suffered during the great hedge fund bank run of 2009:

Trustees of the Tate galleries have lost more than £1m after selling their investments in hedge funds. Tate’s annual accounts for 2008-09 show that its hedge fund holdings, worth £6.3m in 2008, were sold for £5.2m during the last financial year. […]

Tate received £54m in grant-in-aid from the government last year, and another £8.2m in lottery funding. It is a critical time for Tate’s finances, as it needs to raise £215m for a new building next to Tate Modern in time for the 2012 Olympics. The new building is required to cope with some of the 5m people a year who visit Tate Modern. The existing building, which opened in 2000, was originally planned to receive just 2m a year. Tate galleries received more than £64m in donated artworks, more than usual because of the donation by art dealer Anthony d’Offay of his collection of contemporary works, which have been touring the country under the “Artist Rooms” initiative.

Tate Trustees Lose £1m on Hedge Fund Sale (Financial Times)