Esquires awarded £5,000 from Music Venue Trust to help ‘future proof’ the Bedford venue

Esquires has been awarded £5,000 from the Music Venue Trust which it will use towards the cost of essential maintenance and to help future proof the venue.

The Bedford music venue is one of 13 across the country which has received money from the trust’s ‘pipeline investment fund’.

In recent weeks, Esquires’ owners have spent more than £35,000 on maintenance work which has included replacing its main boiler and fire alarm system, upgrading safety lighting and paying a VAT bill.

Esquires’ owner Gareth Barber said: “The Pipeline Investment Fund is vital to the long-term operation of the business.

“With this funding, we have been able to future proof the venue for many years.

“Our fire system throughout the entire venue, including the fire panel was over 25 years old and was condemned during a fire audit.

“The cost of replacing the entire system is considerable, but without carrying out the work, we would have been in danger of either receiving heavy fines, being forced to close, or both.

“At the time of having the quotes through for the fire alarm, we then had our main boiler at the venue break down, and subsequently condemned, and had to replace this as a priority, costing £4,800.”

The fire service also required the venue to update lighting, plugs and certain electrics which cost more than £5,500 and it had to pay a large VAT bill at the end of last year.

Mr Barber added: “An accumulation of large payments in a short space of time have really strained Esquires' finances.

“The fire alarm system alone is costing in the region of £14,000.”

Mr Barber took on the lease at Esquires in 2016 and significant improvements to the venue have been made during his time in charge.

He added from the outside, it can often appear everything is ‘rosy’, with gigs frequently being announced and regular sold-out shows.

He said: “We are lucky we have incredible support from customers in Bedford and beyond and we are able to sustain such an old building as a space for live music for our town.”

The Music Venue Trust was created in 2014 to help protect, secure and improve the UK live music network by securing the long-term future of iconic grassroots music venues.

Last month it released its 2022 annual report which was launched at a reception for MPs at The House of Commons.

It detailed the immense contribution of grassroots music venues to the UK economy and the current threat they face as a result of the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing post-covid recovery.

CEO Mark Davyd said: “The Pipeline Investment Fund proves what we have been saying for some time - small amounts of money, sensibly invested, can make a real difference to grassroots music venues.

“This fund is essential for artists and audiences, improving the places they love and ensuring that they are keeping up to date with the latest equipment, training, access and sustainability opportunities.

“We hope the industry will seize the opportunity to get involved.”

Today, Esquires announced influential hip-hop group The Pharcyde will headline the venue on Thursday, March 30.

Tomorrow, The Zipheads headline the venue and on Saturday, Bootleg Blondie will play a sold-out show and there is also a BBC Music Introducing showcase.

This week Esquires also announced the line-up for the third instalment of its Ceremony all-dayer festival which takes place in June.

For more information about all forthcoming gigs at Esquires visit www.bedfordesquires.co.uk