conic LGBTQ venues in Birmingham’s Gay Village, The Nightingale, The Loft and the Village Inn, have been safeguarded in a rescue plan after the firms running them went into administration. Around 80 jobs have also been saved in the rescue deal struck by owner Lawrence Barton.
Under the terms of the package, all three venues will stay open, with staff protected and suppliers paid in full, Mr Barton confirmed. But he warned that changes are urgently needed to ensure the fix is not temporary, in the face of huge challenges for the night-time sector.
A review is now under way of the venues with a focus especially on how best to maximise use of the 20,000 sq ft Nightingale Club, which is the biggest venue but also biggest lossmaker in the portfolio. Daytime opening and new ventures will be among ideas on the table.
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Mr Barton described the current financial situation for the venues as ‘horrible’ but said he hoped decisive action would reassure staff and customers. “The last three years (since Covid) have been about trying to keep our heads above water. It has been very painful. So many businesses have been lost, and many jobs gone, so I share that pain.
“I see staff looking at me, worrying they are going to lose their job, how will they pay their rent or mortgage, it’s horrible. I’d say 99% of the workforce are LGBTQ, they are my LGBTQ family, so it’s been really hard. The businesses have been secured now as a result of this deal, but there will have to be changes. We need to think about what those changes are.”
Rumours of financial woes facing the venues had circulated for some time but last month it was revealed that GB Holdings Ltd, which operates the Village Inn, Loft Bar and Kitchen and several festivals and events, and Nightingale (UK) Ltd, which runs the legendary nightclub of the same name, had both filed a notice of intention in court ahead of appointing administrators, swiftly followed by a second one.
The London Gazette has today confirmed both firms are in administration. Joint administrators have been appointed to oversee affairs.
But Mr Barton said a plan of action has been agreed that will see the venues The Loft, The Village Inn and The Nightingale taken over by Develop Excellence Ltd, another company with Barton family connections. His mother Gillian, 79, is co director with Terence Runcorn, previously a director at both of the firms now in administration.
Mr Barton said he was aware of criticism of his personal reputation and business acumen because of his and his family’s extensive links to multiple companies in the sector, some of which had failed. “Look, I am fallible, I’m a human being, I’ve made mistakes, I’m not ashamed to say so.
“We have done our best as a family, we stand together as a family. We are from Billesley in Birmingham and this city is so important to us.”
He added: “As an investor I’ve now got to make sure that this transition (through administration) is managed carefully. There are some personnel changes, there will be a review of how we run things, but the venues and jobs are secured. This is all about ensuring the businesses are more robust.”
Over the past 50 years, the Nightingale has established itself as one of the UK’s most iconic gay super clubs – loved by the community in Birmingham and nationally. But significant debts have accrued, according to publicly filed accounts.
Why are the city’s LGBTQ venues in trouble?
Mr Barton said the night-time and hospitality sectors were savaged in the run up to and during the Covid pandemic, when Boris Johnson recommended people not to visit pubs or eat out in the weeks running up to lockdown. That set the tone for a torrid three years, with thousands of venues shutting down for good.
“It’s not just pubs and restaurants – a third of all nightclubs have shut down across the country. We have essentially lost out on two generations of young people discovering nightclubs and that’s had a big impact,” said Mr Barton. Rising energy, food and wage costs had also hit the sector.
“I don’t think there’s any shame in me saying that those businesses, the Nightingale in particular, have been in a state of financial decline. It’s really been struggling and the directors have tried lots of different approaches to make it work, they tried bringing in a new general manager, tried different promotional activities, have done lots of things to try to protect the business, while saying to me ‘we need more money’.”
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In attempting to keep things going he took out a bond against his own home, gave personal guarantee against the lease for the venue, and took out personal loans, so determined was he to save the venue from bankruptcy. “It reached a point where the directors said to me ‘we have to take a decision here’. That was a shock to me. It was not what I wanted to hear, when you have put your life into it.
“I respected that decision and obviously looked if there were any other options.” He added: “By going into administration the businesses can move forward. These are businesses that matter to me. I have owned the Nightingale for 13 years but used it for 32 years, and our staff are our family.
“But the industry, society, the world are all changing. Even inside our own community there have been a lot of changes. There are fundamental changes to what is happening in LGBTQ spaces, I’m seeing it in Manchester, in Soho in London, and now in Birmingham.
“The equality we have been striving for has meant that gay people can now go anywhere….equally, the party vibe we create and the safe space we have created also makes it attractive to people who are not LGBTQ, particularly women who want to go somewhere safe where they won’t get hassled. It can, however, dilute what is on offer as a gay space. But that doesn’t mean we stop protecting those spaces. The Nightingale is 55 this year, it has survived and it must be protected.”
Another critical issue has been the ‘invasion’ of new apartments in the Gay Village, with Barton involved in opposing plans to put up plush residential blocks in the heart of the community, amid fears it would change the atmosphere and diminish the attractiveness of bars and clubs that depend on being free to open late and without fear of disturbing neighbours. “We have to protect our heritage. Our fear here, like it has been in Digbeth, is that our niche spaces risk being swallowed up by big developments and conglomerates,” he added.
Of the Nightingale he said: “We have to keep it going. If that means we have to diversify and change how we operate, so be it. We need to consider how best to use the physical space at the Nightingale. It has been in decline, so if we keep doing the same nothing will change.
“It’s a 20,000 square ft venue, we need to consolidate that. Are the days of megaclubs with 2,500 odd people going to come back? Is that sustainable? Should we look at daytime usage, or split the space up? These are all questions we need to consider,” he added.
What do you think? Are you a Gay Village regular – what does it mean to you? Drop me an email on jane.haynes@reachplc.com