Developer St James Securities and venue management and services company ASM Global have signed contracts with Derby County Council for its new £45.8 million performance venue.

ASM Global has entered into an unconditional Agreement for Lease with Derby City Council and St James Securities, which will give the green light for construction work to commence.

ASM Global will work with St James Securities and Derby City Council on the design development of the venue, located in Derby city centre.

The new 3,500 capacity entertainment and events venue forms phase two of the £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme, which is the most significant urban regeneration scheme in the city for more than 30 years.

Construction work is underway on phase one of the scheme, 259 Build to Rent apartments on the site of the former Debenhams store on Victoria Street, which will be funded, acquired, and operated by Grainger plc, market leaders in the UK build to rent and private rented sector.

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.

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The new venue will be owned by Derby City Council and leased to and operated by ASM Global, the world’s leading venue management and services company, and producer of live experiences. ASM Global’s UK portfolio includes OVO Arena Wembley, AO Arena (Manchester), Utilita Arena (Newcastle), Bonus Arena (Hull), first direct Arena (Leeds), Olympia London and OVO Hydro (Glasgow).

The venue is expected to significantly add to the cultural offering in the city. It will offer a larger, more flexible space than the city centre has had in the past and will collaborate with and complement the activities of Derby Arena to provide the best possible events programme for Derby and the wider region.

It will be a scalable space capable of staging a range of concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, exhibitions, and business events.

The performance venue, which will be at the heart of the wider mixed-use Becketwell development scheme, will help regenerate the area and is expected to bring benefits to the city including attracting both visitors and residents to the city centre.

The planning application for the venue received the written support of key stakeholders and business leaders including D2N2 LEP, East Midlands Chamber, the University of Derby, Derbion, Marketing Derby, Derby Live, Déda, QUAD, Derby College, Pauline Lathan MP, Amanda Solloway MP, Margaret Becket MP, the Cathedral Quarter and St Peter’s Quarter BIDS.

The venue is set to host over 200 cultural and commercial events each year and attract an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby. It is also expected to create over 200 new local jobs, generate more than £10m GVA per year for the area, diversify the economy and increase levels of investment in surrounding areas of the city centre.

Demolition work has recently commenced, with construction work on the performance venue set to commence in January 2023, with completion and handover to ASM Global in late 2024.