The national initiative is designed to secure the long-term future of UK grassroots music venues by moving them out of short-term commercial leaseholds and into community ownership. 

MVP now has nine venues in its current acquisition pipeline, including Esquires (Bedford), The Sugarmill (Stoke-on-Trent), The Joiners (Southampton), The Croft (Bristol), Peggy’s Skylight (Nottingham) and The Pipeline (Brighton).

The second-phase community share offer — launched in May and already raising more than £1.1m of its £1.5m target — has now been extended until 14 November 2025. Investment is open to the public from £50 upwards.

MVP’s “cultural lease” model provides venues with secure tenancy, fair rent, and structured support in areas such as financial sustainability and operational practice. The approach aims to protect UK grassroots music spaces from the volatility of the commercial property market, where lease terms typically average just 18 months.

“The immediate threat faced by these three venues shows the risk that so many grassroots spaces are under,” said Chris Sherrington, campaign manager for Own Our Venues (pictured). “This campaign is about more than saving individual venues; it’s about changing the model for grassroots music in the UK.”

The first phase of the project in 2023 raised £2.88m and enabled MVP to acquire The Snug (Atherton), The Ferret (Preston), Le Pub (Newport), The Bunkhouse (Swansea) and The Booking Hall (Dover).