“We are a small live music venue trading for 34 years and quite honestly, I don’t know how we’re going to continue. It feels similar to 2008, everyone is tiptoeing around, no one with a loud voice is saying how hard it is.” says Jamie Northrop, owner of Alexanders, one of the city’s most iconic music venues, opened in 1991 by Bob Monkhouse. Over the years many comedy and music legend have performed here including Jason Manford, Jack Dee, Duffy and the then unknown Ed Sheeran.

Jamie took over Alexanders 10 years ago. ” Alexanders has been here 34 years. I feel like in the 10 years I’ve been here, we have dealt with a lot. Getting the place back up and running, a few years of trying to get re-established and then we had Covid. I thought that once we got out of that, things would get a bit better, but if I’m honest with you, its got worse. ” “Everyone has to make cuts where they need to ” says Jamie acknowledging the need for everyone to tighten their belts. ” We tend to go out less, and spend less on the extras. As a business owner, I hoped we were going to enter a phase of growth. But in the ten years I’ve been here my utilities have gone up 600%. “

He says that last year, his rent went up. The service charge for Rufus Court that covers cleaning and maintenance has increased by 45%. ” My waste invoices have gone up 70% so I have had to go and source my own waste removal. ” Whilst he continues to negotiate with his landlords over the rent, another bombshell came in the Budget announcement.

“Increase in minimum wage, business rates, ( we had a discount of 75%, they have reduced that to 40%) . I have to charge more to cover it, but there’s only so much I can put on the price of a pint. National Insurance increase. Those 3 things on the budget, for the next 3 months will cost me £16,000 over the next year. ” The changes which will raise up to £25 billion for the Treasury have been condemned by many, with large retailers such as Kwik Fit and Lush telling the BBC that prices will raise.

“Last year we didn’t make a profit. I’m here for the love of music, and to make enough money to pay my staff and support my family. A business that isn’t making a profit is now losing another £16,000 on top of that. I have done all my predictions and I’ve made some cuts. We have had to massively cut our advertising budget, reduced slightly our opening hours, and have brought our cleaning in house. All our staff will be getting a pay rise, however I am taking a pay cut. ”

Jamie has contacted the Council about his business rates to see if they can offer a hardship relief. “I read quite often on your accounts about people not understanding business rates, its important to say that they are set by the Government. There are criteria in an application process to get relief. I have emailed the Council and I have had a letter back saying I need to make a formal application, so I’m in the process of doing that. We are told that the Government have put all these things up, but the local council does have the power to offer relief in certain circumstances. I can’t do anything about National Insurance.

“It would be a shame if the Council can’t see the bigger picture, because I am hoping this is temporary. In the budget announcement last year they did say that from April 2026 there would be a total reform of business rates, and businesses like this would be better off. But i have to get to April 2026 without being closed down.

“Our comedy club is the longest running outside of London- we used to sell out every single week. Now we are operating on 50-60 percent capacity. The comedians still need paying. We have got grassroots nights , which we run Monday, Tuesday, sometimes Thursdays, we try not to charge an entry price for that. Monday nights we have hosted local or touring bands and partnering with Uni bands. We are lucky if we open on a Monday night now, we might take £100 and that doesn’t cover one member of staff. I’m not blaming people for not coming out, but I just want to spread the word about how hospitality is. “

Jamie has also applied repeatedly to obtain Arts Council grants, to no success. ” I have no funding over what people spend on the bar or on tickets. We don’t really know the way forward. We had so much support during Covid, but its actually harder now. No one seems to be listening to anyone. ” he says, frustrated.

“The staff are getting paid more, but they are actually getting less hours! We have not done food here for a while , because with the cost of stock and paying a Chef, even on a really busy day, over a 12 month period, we weren’t making any money at all. ”

He hopes that reform to help the arts will come soon: ” If Beyonce tickets are costing £400 I don’t think a one pound levy is too much to ask. There are a few that have done it, Katy Perry, Kate Nash, Coldplay, some good ones. That money will get fed back to the grassroots. In the grand scheme of things only a few artists have taken it upon themselves to do it. You read about the Chancellor going to see Sabrina Carpenter for free, that’s the perk of the job, but it would be nice if all those gigs were giving something back. Football does. Sport is much further ahead of this in music. There is going to be a bigger national campaign for a levy on arenas and stadiums to help fund the grassroots. The DCMS Committee have all met and recommended it and said that the Industry should take it upon themselves to implement a £1 levy on ticket sales. “

Rufus Court itself has seen many changes over the years. He says that all the businesses have had the same increases. Recent additions to the courtyard include Junkbox and the High Coffee as well as a merger of the Venetian and Greenhouse. ” We had a printing press on the corner which left in December. The vegan cafe is now Books on the Walls, and Hypha/Hanoi has been empty for a very long time. ” Eye Love have moved from the walls and merged/expanded with Aura on Rufus Court.

The future remains uncertain. “We are the only place in Chester that hold outdoor festivals. If you go to other bigger cities and look at the events they’re putting on in parks and so on. If we close or get more restraints on our outdoor events, Chester has nothing. No outdoor sunshine feel good vibes. There’s no where else to do it.” Many years ago Grosvenor Park hosted large scale concerts, as did the Racecourse with the cancelled Chester Rocks. Even events like the Brook Street festival have not happened for years. “Is it because people complain and moan and it all gets shut down ? If we take that stage away, bands won’t come to Chester. “

“We are going to try our very best to get through to 2026. ” he concludes.

Home