“We are calling on everyone – the industry, artists, government and music fans – to come together and invest what they can”: As campaign to save seven grassroots UK venues enters final days, organisers urge fans to donate

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By ( Louder, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog ) published

The charity Music Venue Properties hopes to secure the future of clubs in Bedford, Stoke-On-Trent, Bedford, Nottingham, Brighton, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle by making them community-owned

A live crowd watches a concert in 2025
(Image credit: Francesco Prandoni/Getty Images)

A UK Registered Charity has urged fans to donate as its campaign to save seven UK clubs comes to a close.

Music Venue Properties will wrap up its Own Our Venues campaign on Friday (November 14), and as of today (Wednesday, November 12) has secured 86 percent of its total goal, raising more than £1.3 million of its £1.5 million target. More than 1,000 people have invested since the campaign started in May.

You can donate and get details via www.ownourvenues.com.

The campaign was launched with the goal of bringing the venues Esquires (Bedford), The Sugarmill (Stoke-on-Trent), Peggy’s Skylight (Nottingham), The Pipeline (Brighton), Northern Guitars (Leeds), Gut Level (Sheffield) and Little Buildings (Newcastle) into community ownership. Music Venue Properties says that these clubs and bars “face uncertain futures due to the threat of sale, redevelopment, or unstable leases”.

Matt Otridge, COO of Own Our Venues (Music Venue Properties), comments: “This phase of the Own Our Venues campaign closes in just days, and we are calling on everyone – the industry, artists, government and music fans – to come together and invest what they can, we have done this before and must do it again.

“Every contribution before this Friday’s deadline helps us to secure more venues and each investor can then stand alongside those who already proudly say: we own these venues.”

Last week, Music Venue Properties announced that it had purchased two UK grassroots clubs, The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol, with support from Arts Council England. The news made headlines nationwide, with the charity saying it will “ensure fair rents and provide annual contributions toward maintenance”.

Since 2022, Own Our Venues campaigns have raised almost £4 million, thanks to support from partners and investments. More than 2,000 people have bought shares in the scheme, including Marshall Amplification co-founder Terry Marshall, singer-songwriter Katie Melua and Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook.

Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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