Haymarket Theatre in liquidation just two years after reopening

The Haymarket Theatre in Leicester has gone into liquidation as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic hits the arts sector.

Leicester City Council had invested around £3million installing new seats and fittings in the theatre just three years ago, after it had been stripped out and mothballed back in 2007.

A group called the Haymarket Consortium was set up to run the venue in 2018, and it reopened for live music, shows, conferences and other events.

It since hosted Leicester Comedy Festival events, circus shows, tribute acts and musicals and the Leicester Beer Festival.

But as arts and theatre venues across the country all come to the realisation that it will be very difficult to reopen while lockdown and social distancing guidelines remain in place, the group running the theatre in Leicester have decided to hand the lease back to the city council.

The venue was due to hold a number of performances during the lockdown, including In The Night Garden Live, Bee Gees Fever, The Music of the Moody Blues, and the musical Rent.

People who bought tickets for any of the shows are told initially to contact their credit card company if they used one for purchase. If one wasn't used, they are told to contact Neil Money of CBA Business Solutions, in New Walk, Leicester by e-mailing customerservice@l-ht.co.uk

Leicester's City Mayor said he was "bitterly disappointed" at the announcement.