Music Venue Properties (MVP) is a Charitable Community Benefit Society registered with the FCA (registered number 8635) in 2021.
Originally created by Music Venue Trust, MVP now has its own board and support team and, following the success of the Own Our Venues share offer, over 1,200 members.
BOARD MEMBERS
MVP’s board is formed of Music Venue Trust related individuals and experts in the field of property negotiation, purchase, management and overall operation.
With close connection to our members the board aim to reflect their views in the overall plans and to maximise raised funds with view to purchase venues in the most efficient way, targeting those most in need.
JEREMY MILLS
JEREMY MILLS
Professional Expertise:
Legal professional with over thirty years of experience advising individuals, businesses and charities.
Why MVP?
“I was involved in the creation of MVT for which the work of MVP is a natural consequence.”
NATASHA DOS PASSOS
NATASHA DOS PASSOS
Professional Expertise:
Finance professional with over 20 years of experience in financial management and transformation, notably at Universal Music as the financial controller of EMI Records. Now specialising in sustainability, governance, and risk advisory for the SME sector. Natasha has a passion for sustainability and community, which together with her finance and governance skills support her to champion grassroots projects. She is currently serving as a trustee at the London Gardens Trust to conserve and protect London's green spaces, and previously held the role of non-executive director at Orpheus Sinfonia, a charity supporting musicians in the early stages of their classical music career.
Why MVP?
“I am particularly interested in roles where I can add tangible value, evidenced by the introduction of governance and risk frameworks that promote strategy and resilience. As the governance and risk advisor at Profit Impact, I support SMEs in embedding sustainability and realising their true value, not limited to solely the financial value but including community and environmental value. I welcome the opportunity to contribute my experience to the board of MVP and forge a sustainable route to secure the future of our grassroots music venues.”
CHRIS PROSSER
CHRIS PROSSER
Professional Expertise:
Chris started in the Music industry 30 years ago putting on bands at University. After 5 years managing bands he moved into the Live Music Industry, launching IQ Magazine and working to improve the reach of The International Live Music Conference (ILMC) . In 2014 Mark Davyd and Chris conceived Music Venue Trust as a result of a panel discussion at the ILMC. That year they launched with very little resources but a dream of improving the landscape for Grassroots Music Venues.
Throughout his career Grass Roots and emerging artists have been very close to his heart and when the opportunity came up to work on MVP it was an obvious move. The original objective of Music Venue Trust was to eventually put venues into protective trust so after 10 years it is amazing to be part of it. It has been an incredible journey. Chris's skill set is within PR, Marketing, fundraising, strategic planning and project management
​
Why MVP?
“As a founding board member of MVT with a love of grassroots music venues, I feel my marketing expertise can help amplify the overall project.”
​
FRANCIS RUNACRES
FRANCIS RUNACRES MBE
Professional Expertise:
Francis started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1982 spending most of his time there in the Corporate Recovery department specialising in helping organisations in the not for profit sector facing financial difficulties.
Francis moved to the Arts Council in 2000 and helped design and run a number of major grant programmes including the Stabilisation Programme which provided funds and support to a significant number of arts organisations facing severe financial, governance and operational problems. He designed and ran the DCMS funded Cultural Recovery Fund loans programme that supported a number of the most significant cultural organisations in the country survive the COVID pandemic including the Royal Opera House, Historic Royal Palaces and English Heritage.
He became the first Executive Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the Arts Council in 2017 with a brief to help arts organisations become more entrepreneurial and to encourage the use of non grant finance in the sector.
Why MVP?
"I have passion for indie music and attend over 100 gigs a year, so I have first hand experience how important Grassroots Venues are to a successful music ecology and local communities."
.jpg)
CLARA CULLEN
CLARA CULLEN
Professional Expertise:
As venue support manager at Music Venue Trust Clara manages its Emergency Response Service supporting GMVs in crisis, oversees the charity’s advocacy work and the development of its training initiatives. She is also a regular speaker at music conferences, universities and for national press interviews. Alongside this work at Music Venue Trust, Clara has also spent time working for Festival Republic supporting the programming at festivals such as Latitude and Reading & Leeds and as a promoter's representative in GMVs around London.
Her journey into the music industry started after discovering Banquet Records and her local GMV, The Peel. Watching bands play in venues like The Peel, which closed permanently in 2014, sparked an intense interest in protecting venues so that communities do not lose access to these vital cultural spaces.
Why MVP?
“GMVs are hubs of community spirit and spaces where artists, communities and fans can come together to perform and access affordable local culture. These venues have enhanced my life for the better, helped hone what I believe in and been where I have made my most meaningful friendships. I would not be who I am today without GMVs. For those reasons, I am proud to support Music Venue Properties in their mission to create a resilient grassroots music ecosystem through community ownership so that many more people for decades to come can find their safe havens in GMVs.”
PETER CORNFORTH
PETER CORNFORTH
Professional Expertise:
Real estate investment professional, specialising in urban asset management, and chartered surveyor, with over 30 years of experience in the sector, the last ten in private equity investment and development.
Peter has represented the real estate industry as an expert contributor to the Mayor of London’s Night-time Economy Commission and is an investor/director at Lafayette, the 600 cap venue at King’s Cross founded by Mumford's Ben Lovatt. He is a non-executive director at East London NHS Trust, DHSC's Community Health Partnerships £2.5bn health centre property investor, and an Investment Group advisor for TfL's commercial property portfolio.
Why MVP?
“As a music nut, I am passionate about a secure future for the UK’s grassroots circuit, so jumped at the chance to be a part of the new MVP initiative and give something back for the thousands of hours of pleasure grassroots music has given me.”
HUGH ROLO OBE
HUGH ROLO OBE
Professional Expertise:
After a successful stint in the City in the 1980s Hugh developed an interest in community development and worked in Bradford’s Inner City Task Force helping to develop Carlisle Business Centre: a community anchor organisation in Manningham still in operation. Hugh spent 30 years in community development most of which have been with the DTA now Locality which he has helped grow from a small 8-person organisation to one of England’s leading Third Sector network organisations employing 50 staff serving over 1600 member “community anchor” organisations.
After a succession of leadership roles within the DTA Hugh began to focus on Social Investment. He was a founder partner of Key Fund in 2001 and of Adventure Capital Fund – now Social Investment Business in 2003. Pioneering the use of blended finance for social investment (futurebuilders £220mn and Community builders £70mn –managed by SIB) mostly deployed for the development of community owned assets. Hugh progressed in 2007 to launch a research support programme for the DTA in partnership with Co-ops UK in what was to be known as the Community Shares market. Helping to establish the Community Shares Unit in 2011 and the Community Shares Booster Programme.
Why MVP?
“I am delighted to be involved with Music Venue Properties because I believe that some things are too important to be left to the vicissitudes of the market: amongst them great independent music venues clearly belong. I am a passionate believer in the power of community share capital – a truly radical form of investment where investors give up the prospect of capital gain to secure a wider public good, and believe that this form of investment capital has an important role to play in a more sustainable future. I am excited to bring my experience of social investment to Music Venue Properties.”
JAMES WRIGHT
JAMES WRIGHT
Professional Expertise:
Former live music promoter, booking agent and tour manager now working as a Built Heritage consultant specialising in planning applications for historic buildings.
Why MVP?
“Independent grassroots venues are an essential part of the musical lifeblood. Without these training grounds for emerging talent there will be no future acts capable of headlining big clubs, theatres, arenas, stadiums or festivals. The road to recognition begins with these vitally important cultural assets. Music Venue Properties will hopefully become a strong bastion, which will encourage both local and touring bands to keep aspiring towards success.”
SUPPORT STAFF
CHRIS SHERRINGTON
CHRIS SHERRINGTON
Professional Expertise:
During a career spanning 25 years, Chris has founded and curated festivals, music venues, clubnights and exhibitions, as well as promoted gigs across the North of England. He joined Music Venue Trust in 2020 where his background in process mapping and improvement, alongside an understanding of the challenges faced by venue operators, has helped him deliver projects including the Pipeline Investment Fund and GMV Training whilst also researching and authoring policy representations to UK government as part of his policy and strategy support role.
Why MVP?
"No matter how amazing a venue is, how diverse and groundbreaking its programming or how talented its team is, if the property itself doesn't have a long-term secure future then it can all go to waste. GMVs are cultural sanctuaries at the heart of music ecosytstems and without the security of ownership, we risk losing them, their driven and creative operators and the communities that rely on them. MVP is a revolutionary way to secure the future of these venues, showing the industry how it can support the grassroots and it's exciting to be part of this change that will secure the future of our touring circuit."
MATTHEW OTRIDGE
MATTHEW OTRIDGE
Professional Expertise:
20 years of experience in the live music industry as a promoter and venue owner / operator. I was one of the founders of Exchange in Bristol and spearheaded its transition to become a community benefit society via a community share offer where £300k was raised through almost 400 members. I joined Music Venue Trust in 2020, where my role has been to oversee the MVP project and assist venues looking to move to a not-for-profit model. I have recently become a qualified community shares practitioner.
Why MVP?
“My journey thus far has helped me to understand how important GMVs are to both cultural and community within towns and cities. It's helped me to understand how precarious the average GMVs situation is, particularly when it comes to the ownership of the freehold that they operate from. I hope that my work as part of MVT Properties will ensure that more GMVs are safeguarded for decades to come and present passionate operators the opportunity to allow others to continue and build upon their amazing work for years to come.”