Donations roll in to secure future of grassroots music venue in historic city pub

The crowdfunder for nine venues including Hull's Polar Bear Music Club, has raised over £150,000 in the first 24 hours

After shutting its doors in the pandemic, the Polar Bear went into administration, but a successful crowdfunding campaign allowed it to reopen its doors last August on a shoestring.

Now renamed the Polar Bear Music Club, it is one of nine venues round the country which the Music Venue Trust (MVT) is aiming to preserve by selling shares to “music fans and ethical investors”.

Within hours of launching the new “Own Our Venues” crowdfunder, it had already raised £158,000 of the total £3.5m target.

The Polar Bear Music Club is one of nine the Music Venue Trust is fundraising for

Built in 1895, the Polar Bear - whose name references Hull’s one-time zoological gardens nearby - has a number of stand out features, including a ceramic-fronted counter, one of only fourteen surviving in the whole UK, and a splendid domed skylight.

Daniel Mawer, promoter and secretary of Polar Bear Music Club, said a successful bid would free them from having to look at the finances on a month by month basis, and see the club go from “being a matter of survival” to doing more to benefit the community, particularly with youth projects.

As well as helping young musicians getting experience it would also open up more opportunities for those wanting to become industry professionals in everything from lighting to sound.

More than 35 per cent of grassroots music venues have closed in the last 20 years.

Mark Davyd, the MVT’s chief executive, said the long-term security of grassroots venues depended almost entirely ownership.

He said: “Too many have been at the mercy of some commercial landlords whose motivations revolve primarily around profit.

"We have lost over a third of our venues in the last 20 years and with over 90 per cent having only 18 months left on their tenancies, we are at the cliff edge and could see the decimation of our sector if we don’t do something radical about it.

“The Music Venue Properties scheme will allow ethical investors and music fans to invest in the future of live music while receiving a healthy return on their money.

“Our #SaveOurVenues campaign launched during the pandemic raised over £4.1 million with more than 80,000 people contributing.

“We already have the crowd – we just need to ask them to invest from May 23 and are confident they will.”

The society hopes to raise £3.5 million and purchase the nine venues by the end of the year, with investors offered a 3% APR return on their investment.

One of the venues is in Scotland, The Glad Cafe in Glasgow while two, Le Pub in Newport and Bunkhouse, Swansea, are in Wales. The other five in England are: The Ferret in Preston, The Snug in Atherton, The Hairy Dog in Derby, Sunbird in Darwen and The Palladium in Bideford.

To donate visit: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/own-our-venues