Lifeline for LGBTQ+ nightlife with venue saved in management buyout deal
After weeks of uncertainty, the “heart of the city’s LGBTQIA+ nightlife and clubbing scene” has been rescued in a management buyout deal.
GB Holdings (UK) and The Nightingale, which is one of the region’s most popular LGBTQIA+ venues, had posted two notices of intention to appoint administrators in the space of a month.
Administrators at FRP Advisory were appointed for both businesses this week and then the pair were liquidated. Lawrence Barton, described as the owner of GB Holdings (UK) on the company’s website, has acquired the companies in a management buyout deal and has transferred the interests including the venues to Develop Excellence Ltd.
The deal has sparked a review of the business to improve the offering and usage of the spaces, with ambitions of securing the long-term future of the buildings as cultural assets.
It protects more than 80 jobs and brings the businesses under the direction of Terence Runcorn and Gillian Barton. Runcorn was part of both the GB Holdings team in charge of operations and a director of The Nightingale.
GB Holdings’ website had claimed to own Birmingham Pride, The Nightingale, The Village Inn, one of Birmingham’s oldest LGBTQ+ spaces, The Loft Bar & Kitchen, located next to the Hippodrome, the Solihull Summer Fest, and the Paric Festival, the largest Irish music and culture event at Birmingham’s Irish Centre.
But Birmingham’s night-time economy adviser Lawrence Barton, who was described as the owner of GB Holdings (UK) on the company’s website, told TheBusinessDesk.com that Birmingham Pride is unaffected by GB Holdings and is a separate entity.
Barton is also a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, a West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) leadership commissioner, and a Birmingham Southside BID board member.
A spokesperson told TheBusinessDesk.com: “GB Holdings and The Nightingale Ltd have gone into administration. Both companies have been liquidated, with business interests including the venues transferred to Develop Excellence Ltd as part of a rescue deal struck by Lawrence Barton, which amounts to a management buyout.
“A review of the business to improve the offering and usage of these significant community spaces, whilst protecting over 80 jobs and securing the long-term future of the buildings as cultural assets, is ongoing.”
