Sheffield Leadmill bosses claim landlords are “exterminating” them after they denied plans to close venue

nme.com:

the iconic Sheffield venue and club announced the “devastating news that in one year’s time, our Landlord is trying to evict us, forcing us to close” – leading to an outpouring of upset and support from the music world.Dominic Madden is CEO and co-founder of Electric Group, the company who bought the freehold for the site of the Leadmill in March 2017.

He took to Twitter this morning to assure music fans that they had no intension of closing the venue when they end the current occupiers’ lease in 2023.“For avoidance of doubt, we are music people, we spend our lives running independent music venues and the Leadmill will continue to operate as a special music venue,” said Madden, whose company also own London’s Electric Brixton, the SWX nightclub in Bristol, and NX Newcastle.He added: “The management may change but the song stays the same.”Along with Madden, Electric Group is a joint venture with Jake Lewis of the Lewis Family who run retailer River Island, along with hotels, property development and asset management businesses.I’ll be making a statement regarding @Leadmill shortly.

For avoidance of doubt, we are music people, we spend our lives running independent music venues and the Leadmill will continue to operate as a special music venue.

The management may change but the song stays the same.— Dominic Madden (@DominicMadden) April 1, 2022Meanwhile, Electric Group’s head of music Mike Weller added: “There was never any question of us closing the Leadmill, despite all the social media chat.“The refurb will make the room better equipped to accommodate the modern wants of live music and club nights, for audiences and performers.