Client Profile
Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) is one of the UK’s leading independent theatre and community arts venues. Its historic building was rebuilt by its own community after a major fire in 2015. Today it hosts a theatre and artist development programme alongside a busy events business, all in service of BAC’s charitable purpose. Running a live public venue and a growing events operation on charity resources means BAC’s legal needs are as varied as its calendar.
The Challenge: Broad legal needs, charity budgets
BAC came to Obelisk in October 2025 looking for ongoing commercial and generalist legal support, without the cost of a full-time in-house lawyer. Like many charities, BAC’s legal needs are broad from contracts tied to venue hire, partnerships and events, plus the everyday queries that come with running a small organisation on a lean team. Funding adds another layer. BAC wanted a lawyer who knew the charity sector inside out, and who would work within charity budgets and reporting requirements.
Being able to meet our consultant before we committed made all the difference. It meant we knew from day one that the fit was right, and that mattered as much to us as the legal expertise itself.
The Obelisk Approach
Obelisk supported BAC via our Managed Plan service, providing a defined number of hours each month, at a fixed cost; the legal experts were drawn from a pool of pre-vetted lawyers with charity sector experience. BAC met the shortlist before confirming its consultant, giving the organisation a direct say in who would handle its legal work each month.
Both lawyers matched to the account have brought hands-on charity sector experience with them. That means BAC has never had to explain what a grant condition means, or why a sponsorship agreement needs a particular kind of care. The relationship started from a clear understanding of how a charity works
What Happened
Since the plan began, two Obelisk lawyers have supported BAC, delivering 46 hours of legal work between them. The first consultant built a strong working relationship with the BAC team, then stepped back for personal reasons in the spring, giving good notice for a smooth handover. Obelisk matched a second charity-experienced lawyer, Stefanie Powell, to keep the relationship and the service running without a beat missed.
Timesheets go to BAC every month in a format it can use to recharge relevant fees to its grant funders.
Working with a charity like BAC means the work is genuinely varied: commercial, funding related, day to day operational queries. The flexibility of the Managed Plan means I can pick up whatever comes up, rather than being boxed into one narrow area.
Why the Managed Plan Works for Battersea Arts Centre
The BAC engagement shows what smaller, resource-stretched organisations need most from legal support: certainty, continuity and affordability, working together.
Certainty means BAC knows legal support is there every month, at a fixed, predictable cost, with no new procurement exercise each time a contract or legal query lands.
Continuity means that even when a consultant needs to step away, the relationship and the organisation’s own knowledge are protected through a considered handover to an equally well-matched lawyer, rather than starting again from scratch.
Knowing we have a lawyer in place every month, at a cost we can plan for, has taken a real weight off. We could see straight away that Obelisk got what it means to run a charity, not just a business.
Affordability means charity budgets are respected throughout. Managed Plans start from a small monthly commitment, so quality legal support stays within reach of an organisation that could not justify, or stretch to, a full-time hire.
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