Grassroots venue Matchstick Piehouse loses battle with landlord, announces plans to become a worker’s co-op

nme.com:

A post shared by Matchstick Piehouse (@matchstickpiehouse)Now, the Matchstick Piehouse has revealed that it was unable to come to an agreement with the landlord, and will be making refunds to those who contributed to the fundraiser.“Firstly a huge thank you for contributing to the Fundraiser, and joining the fight to save the Piehouse.

Unfortunately, we haven’t reached a plausible settlement with the Landlord. And therefore will be closing this fundraiser and we’ll be refunding all of your pledges and making further updates shortly,” read a new statement.“Contributing to our decision is the impact that wider trading conditions are having on the venue,” it added. “These factors include increased costs and decreasing spend per head which has had a prolonged effect on the day-to-day operations of Matchstick Piehouse and its team.

All of these factors together have led us to take this very difficult decision.”It also stated that those who run the venue found it “amazing to see the community stand up so strongly”, and many staff and collaborators would be forming a worker’s cooperative to start “fundraising for acquisition of the Lease and to run the space going forward”.According to a description a new fundraiser, resident artist Liv Wynter plans to join our management team, as does Sister Midnight founder Lenny Watson who will be “offering her co-op knowledge” as the team move towards the new structure.“In order to make these first steps, we need support from our community to cover wages, equipment, and getting back on our feet.

We hope you feel inspired to contribute to our future,” it added, looking to raise £35,000 for the cause.It also added: “We are a legally separate entity.