Leadmill owner says refurb estimate is 'illogical'

The owner of Sheffield's Leadmill venue has accused its tenant of making "absurdly overcooked" estimates about the potential costs of refurbishing it.

Electric Group, which bought the site in 2017, has been locked in a two-year battle with The Leadmill Ltd over its future since serving an eviction notice in March 2022.

During a court hearing The Leadmill's legal team suggested Electric Group would not have the funds to complete the necessary renovation work should they gain control of the site.

Giving evidence, Electric Group boss Dominic Madden, however, said the numbers cited by The Leadmill for the refurbishment "seem illogical".

The hearing was told the venue's current tenant, Phil Mills, intended to "gut" the premises of its current fixtures and fittings - including the dancefloor and stage - if he is forced to vacate the building.

A report, commissioned by The Leadmill's legal team, estimated the cost of getting the venue back up and running would be about £4.7m, although Mr Madden said he believed it was a "£2m project".

He added: "I still think that's right, even with the future work required if Mr Mills decides to take things out."

He said his business partner, Jacob Lewis, had agreed to provide up to £3m to fund any refurbishment. In his evidence, Mr Lewis said that amount "could be more".

Representing The Leadmill, Thomas Roe said Electric Group's accounts did not evidence their ability to afford the refurbishment.

In response, Mr Madden said the company was "extremely profitable" and accused Mr Roe of depicting the business, which runs three other music venues in England, "as some sort of dicey company with a fake balance sheet".

Mr Roe told the hearing Mr Madden was also "over optimistic" about the time it would take to reopen the venue, after he had suggested it could be operational by September 2025.

In response, Mr Madden said: "The suggestion it takes years to do all of these things is just not the case.

"You are trying to present me as some sort of over-optimistic person for the purpose of this process, but I'm not.

"We are funded, we are going to do it. We have got complete confidence that we can proceed with our refurbishment plan."

In response to a suggestion Electric Group would be benefitting from The Leadmill's reputation "for a long time to come", Mr Madden said they were "going to do something very different".

Earlier, he told the hearing that under his ownership the venue "will be a slightly more polished, probably modernised, version of the same thing".

"It will still be hosting concerts and nightclub events [but] it's different insofar as it's plugged into a national network of music venues."

Since opening as an independent venue in 1980, The Leadmill has hosted performances from acts including Coldplay, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and The Stone Roses.

The hearing continues.

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