Groundlings Theatre sale: Portsmouth arts organisations beg owner not to sell to property developer

The Cultural Collective, which includes the Guildhall, Mary Rose Museum, New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and The Kings Theatre, said it was concerned about the ‘threat’ of the building’s sale to an investor rather than to theatre trustees.

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‘A community facility in the heart of Portsmouth, Groundlings Theatre has supported the development of many local community and professional actors and is one of the only small theatres in the city whose loss would be felt by many who enjoy its mix of community and professional work,’ it said.

‘Portsmouth has a rich cultural heritage of theatres, music venues, galleries and museums, with culture playing a vital role in the life of the city where venues of all sizes should be encouraged to thrive.

‘The Cultural Collective recognises that the situation is complex and hopes that a satisfactory solution can be achieved which help secures the future of Groundlings Theatre.’

Richard Stride, the owner of the Portsea theatre building and the organisation’s founder, said he had been ‘frustrated’ by months of delays from trustees, prompting him to instead sell it to a property investor.

But the Groundlings Theatre Trust accused him of going back on the arrangement which had been pivotal in the success of a Community Ownership Fund bid earlier this year which gave it the money to buy the site.

These concerns have been echoed by Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan and city council leader Steve Pitt who said the sale to an investor was a ‘tremendous shame’.

The trust said the purchase had been delayed due to legal difficulties around Mr Stride’s use of online property auction company I am Sold that meant a bid was not submitted until after the other deal had been agreed.

Mr Stride said there was ‘no way’ to no cancel the sale.

‘I agreed to sell the building to the trustees for peanuts but they didn’t even inform me they had received the grant until several weeks later so that they could squeeze a bit more money out of me for repairs,’ he said in response to a petition launched by the trust urging him to agree a sale to the trust.

‘I have been keen to get rid of it because I simply can’t afford the cost of repairs. I’ve waited months for the trust and it’s been delay after delay so I put it on the open market and the sale was agreed in less than two weeks.’

He has also previously said that the building cannot be converted into flats because of ‘planning protections’ and that the investor had ‘positive intentions’.

The trust said it was in a position to begin work on the more than £1m in repairs needed but said the sale threatened its ability to continue running the theatre as it only has a lease until 2030.