Bristol and Southampton venues saved forever by Music Venue Properties
Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Wet Leg, IDLES, and PJ Harvey have performed at the venues in the past.
Date published: 7th Nov 2025
Grassroots venues The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol have both been saved forever by the Music Venue Properties.
Music Venue Properties (MVP) announced its purchase of The Joiners and The Croft yesterday (6th November) under its Own Our Venues scheme, supported by Arts Council England.
The two venues have seen performances from the likes of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Wet Leg, Coldplay, PJ Harvey, Bring Me The Horizon, and IDLES in their early careers. Both venues now have permanent protected status.
Joe Talbot of IDLES said: “The Croft! What a dream to have an institution of creative and social combustion be taken back by the community! I am excited for our city and its people to celebrate and witness an example of positive investment in the community, by the community whose ideas and art can help us connect and change the world. That sounds dramatic, but it’s the grassroots venues that are the birthplace of revolution. Thank you to the hard work of Music Venue Properties so we can Own Our Venues.”
Musician Frank Turner said: “I grew up going to, and later playing, shows at the Joiners Arms, and I simply would not be doing what I do today without that space, and spaces like it.”
The Joiners’ Venue Operator, Ricky Bates, said: “We want to thank every single person who has bought a share in the scheme and ensured The Joiners’ future.
“As one of the most important live music venues ever to exist in the UK, this is a win for all independent live music across the globe – with this now in place, we will be here for another sixty years and potentially FOREVER! There are still more venues that need to be secured, so please do invest if you can, much love and stay true.”
The Own Our Venues scheme “focuses on removing the venues from vulnerable leases by purchasing the freehold of the buildings and placing them into community ownership”.
Over 2,000 people have bought shares in the scheme, including Marshall Amplification's Terry Marshall and Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook.
Under the scheme, MVP now has seven UK venues under community ownership, with more in its sights. The other saved venues include The Ferret (Preston), The Snug (Atherton), The Bunkhouse (Swansea), Le Pub (Newport), and The Booking Hall (Dover).
The current phase of the Own Our Venues campaign has reached 82% of its £1.5 million target to bring seven more venues into community ownership: Esquires (Bedford), The Sugarmill (Stoke-on-Trent), Peggy’s Skylight (Nottingham), The Pipeline (Brighton), Northern Guitars (Leeds), Gut Level (Sheffield), and Little Buildings (Newcastle).
Find out more about Own Our Venues and invest in the scheme here. The current campaign will be open until 14th November.
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Header image credit: The Croft