The Leamington Assembly has closed suddenly with bosses citing current rents and rates as the reason.

This is yet another venue to add its name to the growing list of closures and follows reports: ‘Are rising costs still strangling the UK music venue?’ and ‘Small venues struggle to survive amidst rising costs and building developments’.

The owners, MJR Group, also stated that repairs and upkeep of the Grade-II listed building had made the venture unsustainable.

A Twitter post announced the closure was with “deep regret”:

MJR Group, which had run the venue for three years, released a statement on the closure: “While in Leamington Spa, we became a welcome part of the town, developing strong relationships with local businesses, the authorities and members of the public.”

Fans took to Twitter to communicate their own regrets. One Twitter-user described the closure as “such as shame” with another saying she felt gutted to see the venue go.

A Warwick District Council spokesperson commented: “The setting of business rates is something that is unfortunately out of our control. As the local authority, we are responsible for collecting the rates that are set by central government.”

Stephanie Kerr, executive director of Leamington Spa’s Business and Improvement District commented that her thoughts were with the venue’s staff.

“As our local community knows, Leamington has a vibrant music, arts and creative scene which this property is at the heart of and we would like to see that maintained,” she said.

Neil Innes from The Rutles, who were set to perform at the venue, expressed his sadness about the closure: “It’s a lovely venue and a tragedy for the local area.”

Primal Scream, The Coral, Carole King and the Levellers are examples of artists that had played at The Leamington Assembly.

Bosses have stated that all upcoming shows will either be rehoused or cancelled, with full refunds being processed.

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com