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.”
CHRIS PROSSER
CHRIS PROSSER
Professional Expertise:
25 years in the music industry with a strong focus on live. Launched IQ Magazine and is the current publisher; works with a number of live music events.
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.”
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 sits on the Advisory Board at Sound Diplomacy. Non-exec roles include the new Goods Way venue at King’s Cross and The Rattle community of start-up inventors, artists, hackers and nerds looking to change the system.
Also, against many friends’ better judgement, Peter has had an independent record label, recording studio and put on club nights around London.
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.”
RHODA DAKAR
RHODA DAKAR
Professional Expertise:
Singer, songwriter, recording artist and music teacher (post 16), turned professional in 1980. Rhoda is the middle of three generations of songwriters/recording artists. Her father started out in small clubs in France when he lived there before WW2. When he had to come and live in the UK, with war looming, he started to host club nights. Eventually, he had his own club in London’s West End during and for a while after the war. It was tiny but had a huge cultural impact and was frequented by the great and the good of the era, including (broadcaster) Robert Kee and (artist) Lucien Freud.
Why MVP?
“I started going to gigs in 1973 and eventually found my way to the small West End clubs where innovation abounded. I saw glam, soul, punk, and the evening after I left school, I spent at the Blitz with many who went on to form that particular genre. I became fascinated by the resurgent mod scene but was finally drawn to what is now known as the Ska scene. I joined a band and we played small clubs to learn our craft. I am very grateful to be playing in one or two of those clubs more than forty years later. I say one or two, because many have disappeared. If Music Venue Properties had existed before, perhaps that would not have been the case.”
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.”
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.”
HUGH ROLO OBE
HUGH ROLO OBE
Professional Expertise:
Founding partner of the Community Shares Unit, Hugh, a former investment banker, has over 20 years’ experience as an active social investor through Key Fund, Social Investment Business and the Community Shares Booster programme. He was awarded an OBE in 2021 for investment services.
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.”
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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.”
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.”