Deal signals building work green light on £45.8m performance venue

Building work is set to start on a brand new 3,500-capacity performance venue in Derby city centre after a contract was signed with the operator.

The agreement between Derby City Council, developers St James Securities and ASM Global will see the world leading venue management and services company operate the £45.8 million venue, which is being built as part of the £200 million Becketwell regeneration scheme.

ASM Global has entered into an unconditional Agreement for Lease, which gives the green light for construction work to commence.

ASM Global, which has a global network of more than 350 venues around the world, will work with St James Securities and the city council on the design development of the venue.

The entertainment and events venue forms phase two of the Becketwell regeneration scheme, which is the most significant urban regeneration scheme in the city for more than 30 years.

Construction work is already underway on phase one, which involves the construction of 259 build-to-rent apartments on the site of the former Debenhams store, in Victoria Street, which will be funded, acquired, and operated by Grainger plc.

The new performance venue will be built on the site of the former Pennine Hotel, Laurie House offices, multi-storey car park and Pink Coconut nightclub in Colyear Street and Padley House in Becket Street.

It will be owned by the city council and leased to and operated by ASM Global, whose UK portfolio includes the OVO Arena Wembley, AO Arena in Manchester, Utilita Arena in Newcastle, the first direct Arena in Leeds, Olympia London and OVO Hydro, in Glasgow.

Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of the city council, said: “This is an exciting milestone in delivering the Becketwell performance venue.

“This new and flexible space is a key part of putting culture back into the heart of Derby.

“We are delighted to be moving on the next steps of this journey working together with long term partners ASM Global and St James Securities.

“This ambitious venue, run by a world-leading operator, will create hundreds of jobs, attract investment and generate millions of pounds each year for the city along with attracting new visitors and residents to Derby city centre.”

Tom Lynch, group commercial director and senior vice-president for Europe at ASM Global, said: “We’re delighted to have closed this exciting deal with Derby City Council and St James Securities to bring to market such an ambitious state-of-the-art venue.

“ASM Global looks forward to building on the great success of our UK venue portfolio and leveraging our strength in venue programming and commercialisation, to further develop the cultural landscape in the Midlands and support the ongoing growth of the region’s economy.”

Paul Morris, director of St James Securities, said: “We are pleased to have concluded our agreement with Derby City Council and ASM Global, who have a global reputation for excellence.

“We look forward to moving this exciting project to the construction phase and deliver this scheme to the people of Derby and the wider region.

“Closing the performance venue deal and starting on site this month continues the success story at Becketwell with over £85 million of development now underway.

“We will continue to build on these successes as we look to bring forward further mixed-use phases in the coming months.”