IT could be curtains for the Beacon Arts Centre because of a major cash crisis which has led to a mass exodus of directors.

The Tele has learned that the venue will need another bailout from Inverclyde Council and Scottish Government body Creative Scotland to keep it afloat.

It comes after six directors - including chairman Gordon Armour and deputy Isabel Lind - all quit the board of parent company, Greenock Arts Guild Ltd (GAGL), within just a week as a 'radical' shake-up begins behind the scenes to help secure its very existence.

An emergency meeting of the council, which is a key partner of the Beacon, will be held on Tuesday to thrash out a plan for the future of the troubled centre. A source told the Telegraph: "It is a crisis, it absolutely is.

"On a day-to-day basis, there isn't enough money to keep trading and there now requires radical action to try and make it viable. "Unless radical action is taken then GAGL would go into administration and the Beacon doors would close."

The powers-that-be are desperately trying to avoid that scenario and keep Inverclyde's biggest visitor attraction going.

The Beacon, which was built at a cost of £13m, has struggled financially since it opened in 2013 and has been reliant on grants from both the council and the government.

Visitor numbers are on the up and it is understood that some shows, including the hugely-popular annual festive pantomime, do perform very well and bring in a large surpluses.

But there are also a lot of performances where there are simply too few people turning up for them to make a profit to help pay the bills and wages of staff.

The venue's Bistro bar and restaurant is another concern and we understand it is not bringing in anywhere near the amount of money that had been hoped.

A council spokesman said: "The council has in place governance arrangements with the Greenock Arts Guild board and part of those arrangements allow for the release of agreed funds. "It is no secret that the centre has had funding difficulties. "Funds for the Beacon Arts Centre from the council are only released based on agreed actions and the committee will meet next week to review the current position, including the recent board changes and planned actions. "It is in Inverclyde's interests to ensure that the Beacon Arts Centre is a thriving, successful and well run organisation not just for here but as part of the Scottish arts and culture scene. "The council, as one of the major supporters, has been fully committed to ensuring that."

The departures of six directors in the space of a week, including five in one day, means the Beacon and its parent company are now without a chairman, vice-chair and a chief executive, with current boss Sean Paul O'Hare still on gardening leave over allegations of gross misconduct.

As well as Mr Armour and Mrs Lind, Gerry Maguire, Lynsey Currie, Douglas Brands and Raymond Jack have all left.

Carolyn Paterson exited in December, taking the total to seven.

The remaining board members are councillors Jim Clocherty and Liz Robertson, Labour general election candidate for Inverclyde, Martin McCluskey, businessman Puneet Gupta and producer Jo Walmsley.

According to the latest set of financial accounts, the Beacon employs around 43 members of staff.