Last year, The Social music venue in London was forced to launch a fundraiser to help prevent the venue from being turned into a cocktail and wine bar chain due to rising rent. The fundraising event was a success, with the venue reaching its initial fundraising goal of £95,000 within the first week.

Over a year on and The Social has formed a new partnership with other grassroots music venues in London - Omeara and Lafayette - with the help of Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett, who is the CEO of Venue Group.

Lovett says of The Social, "Ever since The Social announced that it was at risk of closure in 2019, I have been actively engaged in trying to figure out a way to prevent that from happening. We have been working together on a solution that retains the entire independence and ownership for the founders whilst teaming up together to ensure the long-term viability of the venue."

He continues, "I believe that The Social is one of the most important destinations in London, especially as a music venue, and alongside Omeara and Lafayette I hope that we are developing a path for artists of all shapes and sizes to develop and grow with their fans in one of the world’s most significant music cities."

The Social's Robin Turner adds, "After the 2019 Crowdfunder, we knew we were realistically only halfway towards saving The Social. Though we were able to stay open for our 20th anniversary, we’d lost our long-time operating partners and needed to find new ones to help us move forward. When we met Ben, Greg and the Venue Group, we immediately knew they were kindred spirits - people who recognised the transformative power of a good night out, and were dedicated to offering audiences and bands the best gig experience possible."