London venue Matchstick Piehouse are attempting to raise £35,000 via crowdfunding after their landlord threatened to end their lease over rent arrears.
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The venue, which is located in Deptford, south-east London, has revealed that their future is now under threat due to the demands of their landlord, who wants to receive the money by the end of next week.
On their Crowdfunder page, the venue explained that they had been in rent arrears “for a long time” for Covid-related reasons, “due to a mixture of being unable to trade during lockdown, and mixed trading in the years after. We haven’t managed to solve it.”
“This means, for the first time in our history, we are having to turn to the public to ask for donations. We understand that in the midst of the cost of living crisis, especially at a time that many people are donating to various political campaigns, asking for money is difficult. We wouldn’t be doing this unless we absolutely had to.”
Meanwhile, Matchstick Piehouse revealed in a post on their official Instagram account that they have been closed for the last week and a half after the landlord sent bailiffs to the premises.
They added: “We just want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send us a message of support in the last week. Your words have helped us keep going and maintain faith that there is a future for this venue past this dispute. We value the space we’ve been able to build so much and won’t let it g down without a fight.”
They also extended their “deep thanks and appreciation” to the Music Venue Trust, who had been helping them with advice and support through their difficulties.
As of today (November 28), the venue has raised just shy of £12,700 – you can donate here.
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