The Ferret in Preston saved by MVT’s ‘Own Our Venues’ scheme

nme.com:

Ed Sheeran, IDLES, Alt-J and Royal Blood, and will now be safe “for years to come” after becoming the second venue to be acquired by Music Venue Properties (MVP).The ‘Own Our Venues’ initiative was first announced in April last year, and it aims to secure the long-term futures of grassroots venues by directly tackling the issue of ownership.The Ferret has signed a “cultural lease” with MVP that states that as long as it continues to operate as a grassroots live music space for the local community, then they can continue to enjoy use of the building.“This is a monumental moment for The Ferret,” said Matt Fawbert, Director & Programme Manager of the venue. “We’re extremely pleased to be able to say that our venue is now safe & secure for years to come.

We want to thank everyone who invested & donated, but today we especially want to thank our friends at Music Venue Properties.”“To have a landlord that is dedicated to live music and supporting grassroots music venues gives us the security & confidence to not only continue delivering great live music to the people of Preston, but also to invest even more in grassroots music and culture and create something very exciting in our city.”#OwnOurVenues has been described as like “The National Trust, but for venues”, and in October, it was announced that the first venue to have been purchased by Music Venue Properties (MVP) was The Snug, a 100-capacity venue in Atherton, Greater Manchester.The MVP is a Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS), which, unlike a charity, is able to raise funds via community shares.

The project was made possible by over 1,200 individual investors including £500,000 investment from both Arts Council England and Arts & Culture Finance to secure these.