The Leadmill could move to new location if evicted

Sheffield's iconic Leadmill music venue could relocate if it is forced to vacate its home of 44 years, the company's director has said.

Electric Group, the owners of the much-loved 900-capacity building, served an eviction notice on their tenants The Leadmill Ltd in March 2022 and plan to run the business themselves.

The Leadmill's legal team is in the process of fighting the decision, which it claims is in breach of several laws.

Giving evidence at an eviction hearing at the Business and Property Court in Leeds, the company's sole director, Phil Mills, said opening a new venue in the city instead was "a possibility".

Mr Mills, who told the hearing he had been involved in running The Leadmill since it opened on Leadmill Road in 1980, said a new premises was "hypothetical" and "plan B or plan C".

"Plan A is that we succeed in this case and we carry on."

The Leadmill Ltd own the trademark for the venue's name, meaning a new venue in another building could be called The Leadmill and retain its branding.

Mr Mills said the new site would "not necessarily" be in Sheffield.

"If we found a suitable premises in Sheffield we would effectively be competing against ourselves because The Leadmill's name and legacy is indivisible in our customers' minds.

"[Electric Group boss] Mr [Dominic] Madden said in his statements it [the venue] will always be known as The Leadmill, he's quite right.

"Old Trafford will always be known as Old Trafford."

Mr Mills confirmed to the hearing he intended to strip out the venue of its fixtures and fittings should the current management be evicted.

His Honour Justice Sir Alastair Norris, who is chairing the hearing, told Mr Mills removing "everything", "whether it's usable in your new business or not", would cost him about £750,000.

"You will lose the benefit of the improvements, you have to pay for stripping out and you will have some repairs to do because of it.

"There are not many company directors who would willingly forgo three quarters of a million pounds for the company."

In response, Mr Mills said it would be "preservation of our possessions, which we are entitled to keep and do with as we wish".

Mr Mills said some of the building's fixtures could be sold, similar to the venue's old dancefloor.

Other fittings could be used in the new premises, he added.

"The Leadmill goes as far as New Zealand, goes as far as behind the Iron Curtain, as far as America and Europe.

"It's like when Elvis Presley died, or Jimmy Hendrix, all of a sudden everyone wants a piece of it."

Judge Norris said memorabilia "doesn't extend to the electric wiring or air conditioning", to which Mr Mills replied: "Those things come in handy elsewhere.

"It will probably be worth more than the £750,000 cost. There's £4.75m in redoing the whole thing, those pieces would contribute a lot.

"There's a logic to this, there's a commercial logic. It's not without any sense or point at all."

Mr Mills has submitted a planning application to Sheffield City Council to demolish a toilet block and another area of the building which houses a cloakroom and fire exits.

A counter application has been submitted by MVL Properties, Electric Group's parent company, to have them reinstated "like for like" in the event of demolition.

Asked how long he thought it would take to begin operating a new venue, Mr Mills replied: "We would have to find a building, we would have to pay for a building, equip that building. That would take a couple of years".

The Leadmill, which has played host to the likes of Oasis, Coldplay and the Arctic Monkeys, would then have to "rebuild" and "establish ourselves", a process he estimated would take between three and five years.

Mr Mills said any move would mean he would have to make the venue's 120 staff redundant.

The hearing was told The Leadmill currently pays an annual rent of £65,000, but this would rise to £238,000 if it was to stay put under a new lease.

The Electric Group bought the freehold to the property in 2017, at a time when it was threatened with redevelopment as housing. Mr Madden has stated that Mr Mills, as the leaseholder, also had the opportunity to purchase the freehold, but declined to do so.

The hearing continues.

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