National Motor Museum eyes move to better-placed site before 2030 amid row over future at Montagu estate
The future of one of Britain’s best-known motoring attractions has been thrown into uncertainty after the National Motor Museum announced plans to leave its long-time home at Beaulieu, with behind-the-scenes tensions over funding, governance and the museum’s long-term future emerging.
The National Motor Museum Trust this week confirmed it has begun searching for a new home as the lease on its Beaulieu location approaches its end, saying a move would allow it to transform the museum, expand its educational role and better fulfil its national remit. The trust stressed that visitors will see no immediate change, the current lease having four years remaining.
Meanwhile, Beaulieu Enterprises Limited, the commercial business that owns the grounds, issued a separate statement seeking to reassure visitors that the attraction will continue to operate a motor museum regardless of the trust’s decision. It said the day-to-day visitor experience will remain unchanged, motoring events will continue as planned and “a significant amount of the vehicles” on display are either owned by or on loan to the Montagu family.
However, a source knowledgeable of the subject has revealed a far more complex picture behind the public statements.
According to the well-placed source, the trust spent several years developing an ambitious strategy to modernise the museum and secure major investment through the National Lottery Heritage Fund. That funding was said to depend on a revised collaboration agreement between the trust and Beaulieu, including changes to the financial relationship between the two organisations.
“The situation is that there was no new lease to be granted,” the source said. “And the split of gate receipts is such that the trust couldn’t continue there in a viable fashion, and they couldn’t get the lottery money without changing the fundamental structure. So they decided to move.”
Autocar understands that only a very small proportion of the £27.56 Beaulieu entry fee went to the trust. The entry fee not only gives access to the motor museum but also Palace House, its gardens and Beaulieu Abbey.
The source claimed the museum generates around three quarters of Beaulieu’s visitor numbers and doesn’t receive a fair split of the admission income, while also alleging that negotiations over a new lease and revised commercial arrangements broke down last month.
The disagreement also appears to extend to ownership of the museum’s collection.
While Beaulieu has said that “a significant amount of vehicles in the museum are either on loan or owned by the Montagu family”, the source disputed that characterisation, saying: “The trust owns around 250 cars; Beaulieu owns 29.”
The breakdown in relations between the two parties is also likely to result in the trust moving the National Motor Museum away from Beaulieu far sooner than the end of the current lease in 2030.
However, due to the sudden split, no new location has yet been found.
The source said that any new location “needs at least 50,000 square feet” and is likely to be better geographically placed to serve more of the UK population.
When contacted by Autocar, Beaulieu Enterprises disputed the claim of a sudden end to negotiations, saying “an ongoing review has been under way for some time”.
