London venue Matchstick Piehouse saved and will re-open as workers’ co-op

London venue Matchstick Piehouse has confirmed that it has been saved amid the threat of closure, and will soon re-open as a workers’ co-op.

• READ MORE: UK grassroots venues suffering from “the complete collapse of touring” – here’s how you can help

The future of the South East London grassroots venue, located in the Deptford railway arches, was thrown into question last November and was forced to call upon its supporters to contribute to a fundraiser to stay open.

It came as the landlord was reported as “threatening to essentially end the lease” unless they were able to raise £35,000 by the end of the week. The pressure put on the location – which is a bar, music venue and art space – came following trade declined after the pandemic restrictions.

In January, it was confirmed that it had lost the battle with its landlord to stay open and revealed plans to become a worker’s co-op instead. It had raised around £30,000 in donations – something the staff at the venue described as “a testament to the community power” – but was unable to pay off the COVID-19 rent arrears.

Now, it has been confirmed that a group of former Matchstick staff, along with resident artists, staff from other grassroots venues and the Music Venue Trust (MVT), have formed a new workers co-op under the name Piehouse Co-op.

The announcement comes after a year of negotiations, and the venue is now set to re-open in spring 2025.

According to a new press release, the venue is 150-capacity and is one of just a handful of local venues in London that is wheelchair accessible. At time of writing, though, it is currently unfurnished and in new need of lights, sound and furniture, as the original Matchstick Piehouse layout was stripped of all its assets. Due to this, it is fundraising for £15,000 to be raised by February 2025, in a bid to secure its grand opening later in the year.

Explaining how it landed on the figure, the organisers of the venue explain that roughly £5,000 will be put towards covering worker co-op staff time between December 2024 and January 2025, while £2,500 will go towards venue equipment.

Similarly, £2,500 will go towards professional consultancy to support co-operative development & business planning, £5,000 will go towards rent. There is also a stretch target £5,000 contingency fund, which would cover additional costs such as insurance, accountancy fees, ongoing business support, utilities, and other expenses.

Visit here to donate and for more information.

Recalling what happened to the £30,000 raised last year, a press release states: “The initial fundraiser was started by Matchstick Limited, the company that ran Matchstick Piehouse, and was intended to cover the rental arrears owed by Matchstick Limited to the landlords.  Although this fundraiser nearly reached its goal of £36K, the debt was ultimately more than this, and after seeking legal advice the directors of Matchstick Limited decided to file for insolvency.

“As there was no feasible route for Matchstick Limited to continue operating the venue, the money raised had to be refunded,” it continued. “For those of you that donated to a second fundraiser that totalled £8,000, this money is largely untouched and will be used for our initial deposit.”

Alongside announcing the plans to re-open as a workers’ co-op in 2025, organisers have also shared details of a fundraising event for the Piehouse co-op. It will take place tomorrow (December 11) at the Avalon Cafe, and is set to include live music and poetry from a range of longstanding piehouse artists and local talent. Tickets will cost £7 and you can find out more details here.

The struggles highlighted by Matchstick Piehouse mirror the concerns for the UK live music scene, highlighted by Kate Nash in recent weeks. The singer-songwriter has been tirelessly campaigning to bring awareness to the hardships faced by local venue owners and emerging artists.

Last month, she launched her Butts for Tour Buses campaign, which saw her join OnlyFans to protest the ongoing financial pressures facing the music industry and help raise money for her ongoing UK and European tour.

She also took her “bum on the back of a fire truck” protest to the London offices of Live Nation and Spotify as well as the Houses of Parliament to highlight the challenges facing artists and those working in the touring industry.

In a statement to NME, Nash maintained that the value of recorded music is “extremely low” and the “cost of presenting live music has gone up by 30.3 per cent over the past two years” with 125 venues closing last year in the UK — echoing concerns raised by the Music Venue Trust last month.

Over the past year, there has been mounting pressure for the UK’s smaller venues to receive a contribution from arena and stadium gigs to ensure their survival. The model is similar to the one seen in the Premiere League of football and already in use in several countries across Europe. It was also recommended by MPs after a DCMS investigation back in Spring, and pressures rose for larger venues to commence support before being forced to do so by the government.

Already, the likes of Coldplay, Enter Shikari and Sam Fender have all adopted a levy for their respective tours to help save the grassroots, after 2023 proved to be “disastrous” and the worst year on record with 125 grassroots music venues shutting their doors – a rate of two per week. The Music Venue Trust argued that a tidal wave of closures threatens the fabric of the UK music scene thanks to the recent budget announcement, with the circuit and artists already suffering from “the complete collapse of touring”.

Just yesterday (December 9), it was confirmed that ASM Global arenas had taken a huge step in supporting the smaller brethren– joining forces with Music Venue Trust to support grassroots sites across the country.