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Sheffield Leadmill landlord granted shadow licence

The landlords of The Leadmill have been granted a shadow premises licence, amid a furore about the future of the Sheffield (UK) music venue.

The venue was bought in 2017 by Electric Group – the owner of London’s Electric Brixton, Bristol’s SWX and Newcastle’s NX – which in 2022 served an eviction notice on the current management, The Leadmill Ltd.

The Leadmill Ltd has claimed the venue would “no longer exist” if it is forced out and is behind the long-running public Save the Leadmill campaign.

Electric Group’s Dominic Madden, however, previously told IQ that the company “intends to continue operating the space as a music venue”.

The dispute culminated in a licensing sub-committee hearing this week, with Sheffield City Council today approving the Group’s application for a shadow premises licence, saying they had demonstrated they could “uphold all four of the licensing objectives”.

“We hope we can put the hostilities of the Save the Leadmill campaign behind us”

“The granting of this licence does not affect the current premises licence held by the venue,” A council spokesperson said. “It allows the second party to run the venue under this ‘shadow licence’ if the current premises licence were to be revoked or surrendered.”

Speaking to IQ today, Madden said: “This is a significant milestone – and we would like to extend our gratitude to Sheffield City Council and the Licencing Committee for focusing on facts, not smears and our outstanding track record of compliance.

“We hope that this decision can mark the beginning of a new chapter, where we can put the hostilities of the Save the Leadmill campaign behind us. Our repeated intention has always been clear – to secure The Leadmill as a thriving music venue for music artists and community projects.”

Around 100 protesters gathered outside the council officers as the hearing began this week, though it subsequently transpired that some of them were paid £40 by the venue to attend.

The Leadmill Ltd, meanwhile, said “the future of The Leadmill and its staff is far from over,” adding it was “considering our next steps over the coming few days”.

An appeal against the decision can be made to a magistrates’ court within 21 days, the local authority said.

Since opening its doors in 1980, the Sheffield venue and club has hosted the likes of Pulp, Coldplay, The Stone Roses and Oasis, as well as early shows from Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon and The Killers.

 


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Leadmill landlord blasts “nonsense” closure claims

The landlord of The Leadmill has discussed the future of the legendary UK music venue, amidst the management’s ongoing anti-eviction campaign.

Since opening its doors in 1980, the 900-capacity Sheffield venue and club has hosted the likes of Pulp, Coldplay, The Stone Roses and Oasis, as well as early shows from Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon and The Killers.

In 2017, the site’s freehold was bought by the Electric Group  — the owner of London’s Electric Brixton, Bristol’s SWX and Newcastle’s NX – which became the landlord for The Leadmill’s longtime leaseholder Phil Mills.

The Electric Group served Mills’ company a notice of eviction last year in advance of his lease coming to an end in March 2023. This prompted the leaseholder and his staff to launch an anti-eviction petition which centred around claims that the venue was facing closure.

In a statement to IQ, The Leadmill’s general manager Ian Lawlor said: “Madden and Jacob Lewis are using a loophole in the law to force The Leadmill out of business. If they succeed The Leadmill will no longer exist.”

“We own other music venues up and down the country and we’d like to run [The Leadmill] ourselves”

The 2022 petition garnered 46,054 signatures and drew the support of artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and Cribs, as well as politicians such as Jeremy Corbyn.

“This E-Petition is fighting to prevent landlords unfairly and unjustly evicting long-standing tenants for their own financial gain,” read the accompanying statement. “In circumstances where a tenant has invested a huge amount of money, time and effort in establishing themselves, has paid rent on time (even throughout Covid lockdowns) and has improved the fabric of the premises beyond recognition, it is inconceivable that the landlord should be able to evict and inherit the investment that the tenant has made. The Leadmill is a valuable asset to the community and an integral part of the local culture which cannot be destroyed in this way.”

But the Electric Group has maintained that the site would continue to run as a music venue – something the company will have to prove in court in early 2024 as it seeks to bring Mills’ tenancy to a close.

“The insinuation that The Leadmill was closing flat is a complete load of nonsense,” explains Electric Group’s Dominic Madden. “It was so disingenuous that we didn’t respond but what we’ve done in the background is engaged with political leadership, community activists, and residents and got a clear sense of what the music community wants in Sheffield.

“Our basis for saying to Mr Mills that we’re not willing to renew his tenancy is because we own other music venues up and down the country and we’d like to run [The Leadmill] ourselves and bring it into the Electric Group’s touring circuit.”

“It would be a success if customers or music fans come in, and [the venue] doesn’t really seem to have changed”

The management’s most recent appeal asked fans to object to Electric Group’s application for a premises licence, allowing them to run their own business from the site. The team suggested supporters research online to understand how the group’s other venues were run and make objections “based on your understanding of the landlord’s experience and competence”.

Madden counters: “A shadow premises licence is a very basic thing that landlords usually get to make sure that if a tenant goes bankrupt or hands the licence back that the premises then can carry on. We understand how to run music venues. The venues I have in Brixton, Bristol and Newcastle are all run by teams – we’re not an AMG-style operator. We don’t have reams of promoters in-house, we work in partnership with people, and the venues are really successful because of it.”

The incumbent management team has also claimed that retaining The Leadmill name would be an infringement on their intellectual property rights. While Electric Group initially said they would retain The Leadmill name, Madden says his company are now seeking legal advice on the matter.

In terms of the ongoing operation of the venue, Madden says he “doesn’t really want it to change particularly. I don’t envisage any real change in the tone of programming so we’re still focusing on gigs and comedy. It would be a success if customers or music fans come in, and [the venue] doesn’t really seem to have changed.

“The venue hasn’t been used that much by national promoters but we’ve had interesting feedback from some that really want to use it. So our intention at the moment is to do some work on [the venue] but we’re not intending to do a major refurbishment like we did with NX in Newcastle. The Leadmill just needs improvements to toilets, dressing rooms, some of the backstage areas, things like that.”

The management is holding a public hearing on 18 September in Sheffield where people can “help by opposing the Landlord’s latest attempt to force us onto the street”.

Madden, meanwhile, is confident Electric Group’s plans will go ahead: “We have a track record of running music venues, a great background in compliance and… our case is very, very strong.”

 


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Dell reports Leadmill for harassment after £370k judgment

Rupert Dell, the former general manager of the Leadmill, has been ordered to pay more than £370,000 in damages and costs to the Sheffield venue for breach of contract.

In a judgment dated 30 January, Sheffield county court judge Sarah Richardson found in favour of the Leadmill Ltd, which had accused Dell of a number of “wholly inappropriate and unlawful” actions, including falsifying trading figures, harassing and bullying staff and diverting business to competitor venues following his dismissal.

According to court documents obtained by IQ, the bulk of the Leadmill’s complaint centres on allegations that Dell engaged in an inappropriately intimate relationship with a female employee, named only as ‘AB’.

“Between 6 January 2014 and 5 February 2014, [Dell] managed AB, interacted with her and demonstrated a level of intimacy with her that was inappropriate for the general manager of the claimant [the Leadmill] to a subordinate employee – particularly a young subordinate that the defendant [Dell] knew was vulnerable – and was an abuse of the defendant’s position of power and influence as general manager,” reads the court order.

AB, with whom Dell had an “existing flirtatious online relationship”, was given the newly created role of box office manager, it continues, despite the Leadmill having “no requirement for a full- or part-time employee” in that role. “The engagement of AB provided no, or no material, benefit to the claimant,” according to Richardson’s judgment.

This resulted in a “costly and protracted investigation” into allegations of sexual harassment by AB, during which Dell reportedly gave “contradictory and evasive answers” to Phil Mills, director of the 900-capacity venue.

“It has been a long and expensive struggle but we are determined to defend and protect both our staff’s and the Leadmill’s reputations”

Dell – formerly also a concert promoter with Goldenvoice UK, and later head of venue programming for DHP Family – was additionally found to have initiated and encouraged a culture of “inappropriate banter” at the venue from early 2011 to February 2014, including his making jokes about employees’ sexuality and weight.

The Leadmill’s complaint also accuses Dell of falsifying figures – on one occasion giving the instruction to move £500 from the bar take at a Liam Fray show “to make it look as if the venue had been paid for by [promoter] SJM Concerts/Mr Fray in the trading figures to be passed to Mr Mills” – and, following his dismissal in early 2014, making at least three bookings for rival venue the Plug (1,200-cap.), “in breach of post-termination restrictions”.

Dell denies the allegations and accuses Mills of attempting to destroy his reputation “and all I have achieved and worked for over 25 years”.

In a statement provided to IQ, Dell says he was unable to contest the case in court owing to lack of funds – the judgment notably includes no evidence contrary to the Leadmill’s claims, with a passing mention of alleged anti-Semitic abuse by Leadmill employees against Dell, a Jew, dismissed as “vexatious” and in “bad faith” – and reveals he has reported Mills and the venue to police for harassment and malicious communication.

“My wife, children and I have suffered immeasurably from the civil action taken by Phil Mills (the company director) and the Leadmill for the past three years,” it reads. “I find it immensely unprofessional to issue needless communications which I believe are clearly intended to destroy my reputation and prevent me from following a career in the industry I love and have a passion for.

“This was a civil action in a civil court brought by Phil Mills and the Leadmill. Attempts were made to bring the matter to a conclusion, but the Leadmill continued to pursue the matter in the full knowledge that they had little prospect of recovering the hundreds of thousands of pounds that they had spent on pursuing the civil case against me. Due to lack of funds I was unable to contest the case in court and therefore I believe my evidence was not heard by the judge.

“All they wanted to achieve was the destruction of my character and all I have achieved and worked for over 25 years”

“You have to ask: Why, then, did they continue? In my opinion, all they wanted to achieve was the destruction of my character and all I have achieved and worked for over 25 years.

“From the outset of this matter, I raised many counter issues in my defence such as what, in my opinion, are anti-Semitic comments that were made against me – a committed and practising member of the Jewish community – during my employment, by an employee of the Leadmill on social media and on the work email. I presented evidence of these comments and the grievance was branded as being vexatious by Phil Mills.

“It now appears that an abusive Gmail account has been set up, designed to invite harassment and abuse of my family and me, despite the legal process having ended some months ago. I believe that this is vindictive and unnecessary. I am taking legal advice on this and have raised it with the police.”

“This has been a four-year case which has hung heavily over our staff,” says the Leadmill’s current GM, Ian Lawlor, quoted in the contested press release from the venue. “It has been a long and expensive struggle but we are determined to defend and protect both our staff’s and the Leadmill’s reputations. The findings of Her Honour Judge Richardson are now a matter of public record, for which we thank her.

“We now return to our main focus. The venue is unique in this country, having been independently run for its near 40-year existence. We are concentrating on doing what we do best: creating exciting and memorable events for everyone, in a welcoming and safe environment.”

Dell’s statement concludes: “I appreciate all the messages of support and trust I have received over the past weeks. I did not do what is claimed in the statement and I now want to move on and rebuild my life.”

 


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