Future of Greater Manchester music venue secured through scheme where fans can buy shares

Manchester is known to many as the UK’s capital of music, with some of the biggest artists making their way through the ranks of the city. Keeping Manchester's strong essence of grass roots music has been handed a huge boost thanks to a brand new scheme. 

A Greater Manchester music venue has become the first to be purchased under a groundbreaking new scheme. Music Venue Properties (MVP) has bought The Snug in Atherton and it is now placed under a permanent protection status. 

The venue is very much suited to its name, having a maximum capacity of just 100. During the day, it doubles as a coffee shop. When the landlord wanted to sell the building its future looked under threat. 

However, thanks to the new scheme which has the tagline hashtag of #OUROWNVENUES.  MVP is not a charity, but is instead a Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS) which can generate its own funds through community shares. 

It is through this that the purchase of The Snug has been possible. Over 1200 individual investors including £500,000 investment from both Arts Council England and Arts & Culture Finance have helped to secure the community assets for the long term. 

The Snug has ambitious plans for continuing to support the future of grassroots music in the region and, according to Managing Director Rachael Flaszczak, the venue has become a “light of hope” for others like it.   

Rachael Flaszczak said: “The Snug being purchased by Music Venue Properties means everything to me, my team and our community, as it allows us to continue to provide this very important space to up & coming artists for many years to come.

“We now feel secure and confident to plan ahead knowing the venue is in safe hands with people that have a shared vision of the future of new music. To be the first of many serves as a light of hope that the preservation of Grassroots Music Venues can be done when people pull together to make things happen, and The Snug can keep showcasing the cultural life within our community.”

Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT said: “The #OWNOURVENUES project is a cutting-edge initiative and this first acquisition of The Snug is the culmination of a long-held ambition of Music Venue Trust. It shows a way forward not just for music, but for community ownership right across the UK. We hope we have created a template that can be replicated wherever a community highly values a cultural asset.”

To keep up to date with goings on at The Snug, visit their social media pages.