London’s Space289 to reopen for foreseeable future following rent dispute

London venue Space289 is to reopen for the foreseeable future.

The 200-capacity space closed at the end of 2022, with the team behind the venue revealing last summer that it would be forced to shut following a dispute with the landlord over an increase in rent costs. The Victorian arch under which the venue is housed was sold by Network Rail in 2019 to the American Investment bank Blackstone, who planned to more-than-double the rent on the space.

When the dispute initially came about last summer, Space289 said legal action was undertaken to stop the increase in rent costs from happening. The lengthy nature of court proceedings, as well as mounting costs, however, forced those running the venue to decide to close with hopes “to return in some form” in the future.

Posting last week though, the team behind Space289 said on social media: “Turn of events again – Space289 can operate for the foreseeable, late license possible.” There were no further details on how the venue had been able to reopen again after the initial rent dispute.

Promoters who want to put on events at Space289 in the future are encouraged to get in touch by emailing [email protected].