London venue Heaven in jeopardy while facing £320,000 rent increase

nme.com:

BBC, the dispute arose as a result of The Arch Company requesting an additional £240,000 per year increase – a figure which comes following another rise of £80,000 that was requested in September 2023.The owners have since shared how the hiked fees have put the venue in jeopardy, and insisted that they have been forced “to go public” with the dispute to highlight the pressures faced by live music venues and entertainment spaces.“If you wonder why so many venues are closing.

If you wonder why we are losing more LGBT Venues. Look no further than LANDLORDS,” read a post by the club’s founder and G-A-Y owner Jeremy Joseph.“We have been fighting them for five months and they aren’t willing to back down,” the post continued. “It’s time to put public pressure on Landlords, this isn’t just about Heaven, this is about every hospitality venue because if our rent goes up, it will increase the rent of other venues because in arbitration, they use other comparable rents to value yours.”The arbitration process should enable both the owners of the venue and the landlords to reach an agreement without having to go to court.

That being said, Joseph has claimed that the process has cost the venue just shy of “£10k in legal fees” already.A post shared by G-A-Y & Heaven Nightclub (@heavenlgbtclub)Responding to the owners speaking out about the pressures faced due to the rent increase, a spokesperson for The Arch Company said a statement with Mixmag.“Heaven is a long-term and valued customer and we have been working closely with them to reach an agreement on the market rent for their premises,” they said. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree this between ourselves and so an independent third party has now been appointed to help.