Grassroots venue Matchstick Piehouse loses battle with landlord, announces plans to become a worker’s co-op

The South-East London venue Matchstick Piehouse has announced that it has lost the battle with its landlord to stay open, and revealed plans to become a worker’s co-op instead.

• READ MORE: UK to lose 10 per cent of grassroots venues in 2023, as calls grow for rest of industry to invest

The future of the grassroots venue, located in the Deptford railway arches, was thrown into question last November when those working at the site called upon its supporters to contribute to a fundraiser to stay open.

This came after it announced that the venue’s landlord was “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.

“We have spent all of our time […] trying to find a resolution which would allow us to open our doors,” read an initial post on the venue’s Instagram page. “Unfortunately it took us days to get a response from the landlord; when they did get in touch it was to say that we need to pay £36,000 by the 29th of November to stay on the lease.”

Now, the Matchstick Piehouse has revealed that it was unable to come to an agreement with the landlord, and will be making refunds to those who contributed to the fundraiser.

“Firstly a huge thank you for contributing to the Fundraiser, and joining the fight to save the Piehouse. Unfortunately, we haven’t reached a plausible settlement with the Landlord. And therefore will be closing this fundraiser and we’ll be refunding all of your pledges and making further updates shortly,” read a new statement.

“Contributing to our decision is the impact that wider trading conditions are having on the venue,” it added. “These factors include increased costs and decreasing spend per head which has had a prolonged effect on the day-to-day operations of Matchstick Piehouse and its team. All of these factors together have led us to take this very difficult decision.”

It also stated that those who run the venue found it “amazing to see the community stand up so strongly”, and many staff and collaborators would be forming a worker’s cooperative to start “fundraising for acquisition of the Lease and to run the space going forward”.

According to a description a new fundraiser, resident artist Liv Wynter plans to join our management team, as does Sister Midnight founder Lenny Watson who will be “offering her co-op knowledge” as the team move towards the new structure.

“In order to make these first steps, we need support from our community to cover wages, equipment, and getting back on our feet. We hope you feel inspired to contribute to our future,” it added, looking to raise £35,000 for the cause.

It also added: “We are a legally separate entity. We are starting a new venue with the same ethics and cultural aims.” Find out more about the fundraiser here.

The update on Matchstick Piehouse comes just after figures from the UK grassroots live music scene spoke to NME about how 2023 was the “worst year for venue closures”.

“Trade has been down,” owner Tom Maddicott explained to NME. “We had a good year after the pandemic and then it just dropped off. The end was quite rapid. People just aren’t going out as much and we can’t afford to pay the bills. It’s as simple as that.”

He continued, adding that it was “totally possible” for venues to remain open if the music industry adopted the suggested ‘Premier League’ model like UK football does – where the upper echelons pay back and invest in the grassroots.

“MVT have been asking the industry to sort this out for years, and they haven’t done it. Now is the time. Maybe we need to go to government and get it enforced before we lose any more venues.”

Elsewhere, last year, it was revealed that the UK was set to lose 10 per cent of its grassroots music venues in 2023. Similarly, an MVT report from January warned that grassroots gig spaces in the UK were “going over a cliff” – shutting off the pipeline of future talent without urgent government action and investment from new large arenas.

The latest stats from the MVT show that 2023 saw 125 grassroots venues shut down– causing a loss of 4,000 jobs, with 14,500 events no longer possible and 193,230 opportunities lost to musicians.