Sheffield Leadmill “remain defiant” against eviction as new building owner granted shadow licence

nme.com:

it was announced that The Leadmill was facing a threat of closure due to its landlord issuing a notice of eviction. The news sparked an outcry from music industry figures and gig-goers alike.A licence hearing then began this Monday (September 18) to determine the future of the venue, with the barrister acting for Leadmill boss Phil Mills accusing the new owner Dominic Madden of “arrogance”.The building’s owners, Electric Group, who bought the site’s freehold in 2017, previously told music fans that they had no intention of closing the venue at the end of the current occupiers’ lease in 2023. “The management may change but the song stays the same,” Madden, CEO and co-founder of Electric Group, wrote on Twitter at the time.Madden’s company MVL Properties 2017 Ltd applied for a shadow licence to operate the Sheffield venue once it has evicted The Leadmill from the premises on Leadmill Road, where the club has operated since opening in 1980.

Now, MVL have had the licence application approved by Sheffield City Council.A shadow licence protects the rights of the landlord to continue operating licensed premises in a venue after tenants move out.Venue operators The Leadmill Ltd – led by Mills – said the future of the venue is “far from over” after the decision, saying it was “considering our next steps over the coming few days”.They wrote on Instagram: “The Sheffield Licensing Sub-Committee have today decided to grant our landlords their shadow licence.“However the fight for the future of The Leadmill and its staff is far from over, and we will be considering our next steps over the next few days.