# From ROCO to ruin: A buzzy arts co-op raised £1.2m from local investors and left them with nothing

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/from-roco-to-ruin-a-buzzy-arts-co-op-raised-1-2m-from-local-investors-and-left-them-with-nothing/
- Published: 2026-10-24T07:04:30+00:00
- Original publisher: Sheffield Tribune
- Original article: https://www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/from-roco-to-ruin-a-buzzy-arts-co-op-raised-1-2m-from-local-investors-and-left-them-with-nothing/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Sheffield

## Key points

- A private business with a similar offer took over the buildings in 2018.
- Former ROCO co-founder Andrea Burns was one of its directors.
- Nearly 150 investors were left without the promised returns.

## Summary

Newly added reporting highlights that a private company with a similar offer moved into The ROCO’s buildings just a month after the arts co-operative closed in 2018, with former ROCO co-founder Andrea Burns among its directors. The development raises questions for investors who had been promised annual returns and were left with nothing when the co-op collapsed.

The ROCO raised more than £1 million from local investors and the public to convert seven Grade II-listed buildings on Glossop Road into a 17,000 sq ft arts complex. It closed three years after opening, leaving almost 150 people and organisations out of pocket; investor Peter Marsh called the collapse a missed opportunity for Sheffield and criticised what he saw as poor business skills or excessive optimism.

## Coverage

- [Sheffield Tribune: From ROCO to ruin: A buzzy arts co-op raised £1.2m from local investors and left them with nothing](https://www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/from-roco-to-ruin-a-buzzy-arts-co-op-raised-1-2m-from-local-investors-and-left-them-with-nothing/)
- [🔎 Sheffield: From ROCO to ruin: A buzzy arts co-op raised £1.2m from local investors and left them with nothing - Sheffield Tribune](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMizAFBVV95cUxOLWZqVXNKU0R0c0Fmc25ZVVVTbnRpNFpoSzhxN0VLbzhTdl9MZlFzTm8yU0ZNRUhoX3dYSkNuTE9iZ2VyN2JQNFFOcjVNX1dDdmx4eTJrTnhuQXVTdUZVS0tlSUxhRUgwZUw0VEx4dXZIQVlJQ0h0VWVubGJkZmJXQVJYNmZMQlpTc1JqcV90Ny1nQzVjdWJFX0RDNUhxRWp2VlFhYk56YVh2YkJBNkdQb214cmk4ZW4xQWd4RDN6NlRhX3o5Y2QxWEU5TWc?oc=5)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.