Future Yard CIC is a social enterprise established in 2019 to use music as a force for good in Birkenhead and the wider Wirral area, with the ambition to reimagine the role of a community music venue. Alongside a busy programme showcasing exciting new music talent, Future Yard hosts an artist development hub and free skills training programmes to enable young people to pursue careers in the industry. The organisation has also committed to a long-term goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral grassroots music venue in the North of England, and one of the first in the UK.
We believe that music can change the world. And with Future Yard, we'd love to create a community business model that really creates a best-case demonstration of how you can achieve that.
Challenge
After delivering a successful two-day music festival in August 2019 which demonstrated local appetite for a music venue, the team behind Future Yard made plans to establish a permanent home in Birkenhead.
In early 2020, they acquired a long-term lease for a three-floor former nightclub and began work to transform it into a music venue and skills hub. In September 2020 they launched the first cycle of Future Yard's Sound Check programme, working with local young people to develop their practical music industry skills through a 12-week programme of training sessions and mentoring.
Shortly after Future Yard moved in, the landlord decided to put the property on the market. Despite the challenging timing so soon after opening and during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Future Yard team recognised it as a unique opportunity to secure the venue’s future. However, they were unable to access a traditional mortgage due to deposit requirements and the young age of the enterprise.
Solution
Future Yard approached the Arts & Culture Impact Fund (ACIF), which offered a secured loan of £292,500 towards the purchase. By acquiring the property with the help of social investment, Future Yard were able to considerably strengthen their asset base and make longer-term plans for the venue including future investment in capital works to provide high quality facilities for their service users.
Revenue
Future Yard operates as a socially-driven music venue, complementing trading income with ongoing grant funding. Its three main work strands at the time of investment were: trading as a music venue; delivering artist development programmes through a membership model; and providing free skills training to vulnerable young people.
It was important that the balance of activities and funding streams could provide a sustainable model for the enterprise in the long term. Ultimately, Future Yard's Covid-19 era risks were balanced against the team's impressive fundraising performance as a start-up enterprise, their extensive experience and connections within the industry, strong strategic planning and unwavering drive.
Impact
Birkenhead is a town with high levels of deprivation and limited opportunities for young people. Future Yard's free training programmes and networks help vulnerable young people from the area to improve their practical knowledge, confidence and chances of finding quality employment in the music industry. It works with referral partners such as the local jobs centre and social housing association and has a partnership with local mental health charity Open Door Centre to offer additional mental health support to participants.
Future Yard's artist development programme supports emerging artists through mentorship and access to space, events and workshops, building a supportive and collaborative community. There are no similar music sector hubs in the region and artists often lack practical support to turn their passion for music into a career.
The placemaking value of Future Yard - as a community space in a town that has not had a music venue in a decade - is also significant. The team's ambition to galvanise positive change beyond the confines of the venue is reflected in their strapline ‘The Future is Birkenhead’, now proudly painted on the venue’s very own walls.
Fostering a love of music in communities across the UK enriches countless people's lives and ultimately strengthens one of our most iconic industries. That's why we were so excited by Future Yard's proposal, which promised to create a vibrant music hub in an area where creative opportunities are limited. Their vision and leadership shone through in a time of great uncertainty for the arts sector, and we were delighted to welcome them into our portfolio and see them establish themselves as a major cultural presence in Birkenhead.