The Joiners And The Croft Bought By ‘Own Our Venues’ Community Ownership Scheme
Seven Venues Now Acquired By Music Venue Properties With More Targeted
Glenn Tilbrook & Katie Melua Invest In Fundraising Initiative
Glenn Tilbrook, Squeeze
Music Venue Properties (MVP), the pioneering Charitable Community Benefit Society, announce the purchase of The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol under its Own Our Venues initiative with support from Arts Council England.
The two Grassroots Venues, where artists including Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, PJ Harvey, Oasis, IDLES and Wet Leg played early in their careers, will now have permanent protected status and will benefit from long-term security. Dubbed The National Trust for Grassroots Music Venues, Music Venue Properties, originally created by Music Venue Trust (MVT), focuses on removing the venues from vulnerable leases by purchasing the freehold of the buildings and placing them into community ownership.
Ricky Bates, Venue Operator, The Joiners
Marc Griffiths, World Famous Dive Bars
Since launching in 2022, the Own Our Venues campaign has raised almost £4 million through a combination of community investment — with music fans buying shares from as little as £50 — and vital funding from cultural partners. This includes £500,000 from Arts Council England, which played a key role in securing the purchase of these two iconic venues. The Joiners and The Croft join The Snug in Atherton, The Ferret in Preston, Le Pub in Newport, The Bunkhouse in Swansea and The Booking Hall in Dover in the growing portfolio of venues now owned by the music community.
More than 2,000 music fans have now invested through the Own Our Venues Community Share Offer, including Marshall Amplification’s Terry Marshall and his wife Lesley, singer-songwriter Katie Melua and Squeeze co-founder and frontman Glenn Tilbrook.
Glenn Tilbrook, Squeeze
Frank Turner, Singer-songwriter
Joe Talbot, IDLES
The current phase of the Own Our Venues campaign has reached 82% of its £1.5 million target to bring seven more vital Grassroots Music Venues into permanent community ownership. These venues are Esquires in Bedford, The Sugarmill in Stoke-on-Trent, Peggy’s Skylight in Nottingham, The Pipeline in Brighton, Northern Guitars in Leeds, Gut Level in Sheffield, and Little Buildings in Newcastle. Music fans can continue to invest and support the campaign which runs until November 14, 2025 at www.ownourvenues.com.
Matt Otridge, COO Own Our Venues (Music Venue Properties)
But the work isn’t over and there are still many more venues under threat. This phase of the Own Our Venues campaign closes in just 2 weeks, and we are calling on everyone, the industry, artists, government and music fans to come together and invest what they can. Every contribution helps us to secure more venues and each investor can then stand alongside those who already proudly say: we own these venues.”
Dr Claire Mera-Nelson, Director, Music – Arts Council England
Both The Croft in Bristol and The Joiners Arms in Southampton are legendary touring venues that have launched the careers of our most treasured musical artists, highlighting the importance of these spaces, and we’re looking forward to them continuing to provide outstanding experiences for artists and audiences for many years to come.”
The ‘cultural lease’ that MVP has created provides long-term security for operators by offering stability and support not afforded by most typical commercial tenancies. It ensures fair, sustainable rent, annual contributions toward essential maintenance, and ongoing support in areas such as financial sustainability and operational best practice. This comprehensive support and having a supportive and benevolent landlord helps venues focus on their mission to bring music to their local communities while ensuring that communities have permanent cultural spaces for future generations.
More information and other supporting documents are available on the Music Venue Properties websites: www.ownourvenues.com, www.musicvenueproperties.com
