Lawyers in tune for music venue deal
18th April, 2017
ADVISERS at law firm Ward Hadaway have been praised for their role on the acquisition of iconic North East music venue The Cluny.
Experts from the Commercial, Property and Employment teams at Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle office provided legal advice to Mi Viejo Fruta Limited, a company run by former Cluny manager Julian Ive and business partner Steve Parkin, on its acquisition of The Cluny from North East brewery Camerons.
The new owners of the venue, located in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle, now plan to expand The Cluny’s programme of gigs and make the place a cultural hub.
Camerons Brewery, which bought The Cluny in 2013 as part of its acquisition of the Head of Steam chain, will continue to supply The Cluny with a range of beers, cider, spirits and wine.
In tune – Ward Hadaway lawyers Alex Wright (left) and Matt Cormack (right) with new owners of The Cluny Julian Ive (second from left) and Steve Parkin.
Matt Cormack, Associate in the Commercial team at Ward Hadaway, led the firm’s team advising Mi Viejo Fruta on the acquisition with support from Property Partner Alex Wright and Employment Associate Graham Vials.
Matt said: “The Cluny is an iconic venue which has hosted some of the very best cutting edge bands to come to Tyneside over the last 15 years so it was great to be involved in the deal which sees the venue move to new ownership.
“It was important that the transaction was completed within quite a tight timescale to ensure continuity for The Cluny so it was very useful to be able to call on the services of colleagues within other specialist teams at Ward Hadaway to meet that timetable.
“Having been to a number of gigs at The Cluny myself over the past few years, I know what a great place it is to see bands and it looks set for an exciting future with Julian and Steve at the helm.”
Julian Ive, Director at Mi Viejo Fruta and in-house manager at The Cluny, said: “Matt, Alex and the team at Ward Hadaway did an excellent job to ensure that everything was correct and in place for us to acquire The Cluny from Camerons.
“They did a thoroughly professional job which meant that we could concentrate on our plans to develop the venue going forward.
“Having spent 11 years at The Cluny from 2005 to 2016, the place has really become a part of me and it is a great feeling to know that we now own it.
“We’ve got some exciting plans in the pipeline for the business and we can’t wait to get started.”
The Cluny opened as a bar, café and live music venue in 2002 and since then has hosted bands including Arctic Monkeys, Editors, New York Dolls, The Futureheads and The Vaccines.
It was named Best Live Music Venue by music development agency Generator North East in 2009 and has also previously featured in the Good Pub Guide.
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