​Sheffield music venue The Leadmill wins court battle following eviction threats

Sheffield’s longest-running music venue The Leadmill has won its recent court battle following a two-year legal battle with the building’s owners.

Last May, The Leadmill was served an eviction notice after an application for a premises licence was submitted by the historic building’s landlords.

The venue was purchased as a freehold in 2017 by Electric Group (Electric Brixton London, SWX Bristol, NX Newcastle), who began looking to remove management in order to run the space themselves. The name Electric Sheffield was also registered in 2023.

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“If granted, this would allow them to operate their own business from this location,” the venue explained on Instagram last year. “This could result in The Leadmill ceasing to exist after 43 years.”

The case was taken to court for the first time on Monday, May 20, and Tuesday, May 21, where The Leadmill moved a step closer to winning the ongoing battle against the building’s landlords, they confirmed on Instagram yesterday.

At Leeds Business & Property Court, The Leadmill spoke on the “unlawful” approach taken by landlords, and the various submissions put forward by the property owners.

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The judge took the decision to move the case to High Court, explaining that three out of four of The Leadmill’s amended defence arguments had “a real prospect of success”.

Electric Group’s Dominic Madden said that if eviction was to go ahead, the venue would be renamed and replace all current staff. He also said that those using the space as a workshop would also be evicted, which The Leadmill argued is a “violation of the well-established principles of Human Rights law”.

Madden’s representative, Wayne Clark, rejected this claim that this would be a breach of human rights laws, explaining at the hearing: "With respect to my learned friend, he's reading far too much into it."

In a statement on Instagram yesterday, The Leadmill said: “Our staff were at the hearing and were shocked to hear the news that Jacob Lewis and Dominic Madden were intending to destroy their livelihoods". Read their full statement here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter