Landlords of Liverpool’s Grand Central Hall have announced today that the venue will be closed to the public after the building operator built up rent arrears of more than £1.2 million. The events and leisure venue on Renshaw Street will not be able to host any of its upcoming concerts and shows, which included performances by drag queen Sasha Velour and poet Kae Tempest, to name a few.
Nextdom Property Limited, who own the building, said the locks have now been changed and any unauthorised entry is an offence. Today, Nextdom served official notice of forfeiture of the lease to venue operator Local Bar Four Limited, which is effective immediately.
A spokesperson for the landlord said: “We re-entered premises peacefully with a certificated enforcement agency in accordance with the Regulations as per the Tribunal Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. All locks have been changed on the building to re-secure it and we have ensured there is nobody remaining on the premises.
“The two leases have been forfeited and we are awaiting contact from the former tenant to come and collect any chattels belonging to them which remain on the premises. A security team will now remain onsite for the foreseeable future.”
Nextdom say the move follows repeated attempts to seek the co-operation of the venue operator to put together an arrears payment plan following the end of the government-imposed rent holiday during lockdown. The operator re-started trading at the end of lockdown, hosting a series of concerts at the venue.
All forthcoming concerts at the venue are now cancelled and ticket-holders are advised to revert to the operator, Local Bar Four, for details of re-arranged venues or for ticket refunds, as appropriate. Nextdom Property Ltd’s spokesperson added: “We’ve extended a huge amount of goodwill to the operator and we have made this move with some regret… We feel for members of the public who are being inconvenienced.”
Grand Central Hall is magnificent building featuring Art Nouveau architecture and 100-year-old pipe organ was once a Methodist church, then it was transformed to become the city’s first cinema called the New Century Picture Hall. It later housed the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra whilst the Philharmonic Hall was being rebuilt on Hope Street.