U.K. Grassroots Venues to Come Under Community Ownership Through New Scheme

LONDON — A number of vital grassroots music venues in the U.K. are set to come under shared ownership in the second phase of a new community-led project.

The Music Venue Properties, the Charitable Community Benefit Society (CBS) created by Music Venue Trust (MVT), seeks to protect grassroots venues by placing them into community ownership and outside of commercial leases with landlords.

Seven grassroots music venue will be included in the next phase of the project: Esquires, Bedford; The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent; The Joiners; Southampton, The Croft, Bristol; Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham; The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle; The Pipeline, Brighton. The community share offer, which will open on May 15, 2025 and close on July 31, 2025.

The first phase of the Own Our Venues initiative ran in 2023, and raised £2.88m ($3.83m) to secure the ownership of a number of venues across the U.K., including The Bunkhouse in Swansea, Wales, and The Snug in Atherton, England.

An accompanying press release says that the scheme offers a “cultural lease,” that far exceeds the traditional 18 month commercial lease that these venues must operate within. The statement adds, that these cultural leases “ensure fair, sustainable rent, annual contributions toward essential maintenance, and ongoing support in areas such as financial sustainability and operational best practice.”

Ricky Bates, venue operator of The Joiners, Southampton said of the next phase of the program, “We welcome Music Venue Properties’ ownership of our building as the only real solution to securing one of the most important live music venues in the UK. For almost 60 years, The Joiners has been a vital part of the UK touring circuit and a creative cornerstone of Southampton, but today its future is uncertain. Our lease expires this year, our landlord is retiring and, while the venue is rich in history, the building is over 200 years old and in need of care. 

“In today’s economy, it simply isn’t viable for us as individuals to purchase the property but, with the support of the Own Our Venues campaign and the wider music community, we can secure The Joiners for the next 60 years and beyond. Be part of this historic moment—get involved and help protect grassroots music for generations to come.”

It’s the latest move by the U.K. music scene in the fightback against closures of independent venues and to support grassroots musicians. On Wednesday (May 14), the team behind The Leadmill in Sheffield, England said that their eviction appeal had been unsuccessful and that they have three months to vacate the premises. The building’s landlord, the Electric Group, runs a number of venues in the U.K. already, including London’s Electric Brixton, Bristol’s SWX and Newcastle’s NX. Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp and Coldplay are among the legendary artists to play The Leadmill over the years.