Christopher BarrettMulti-venue operator Academy Music Group (AMG) said it has acquired the 3,000-capacity Edinburgh Corn Exchange from Marco’s Leisure and will rebrand it O2 Academy Edinburgh.
The Corn Exchange was built in 1909 and over the last two decades the category B listed building has been owned by Marco’s Leisure. Among the many acts to have performed there include Blur, Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Oasis, Coldplay, Garbage, Grace Jones and Radiohead.
AMG CEO Graham Walters said, “We see huge potential with this venue, it fits with our ethos of investing in heritage buildings, with the right capacity of 3,000 to bring world-class entertainment to the city. It also has a number of diverse secondary spaces, flexible formats and configurations that we’ll be looking at over the coming months to complement programming and events in the main auditorium.”
AMG said it has invested in new, in-house, sound and lighting production facilities at O2 Academy Edinburgh ahead of its forthcoming shows including Declan McKenna (3 Sep), Tom Grennan (9 Sep), CHIC feat. Nile Rogers (21 Sep) and Yungblud (11 Oct).
Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) has a dominant stake AMG, with fellow shareholders including SJM Concerts and Metropolis Music. AMG owns and operates 20 award-winning venues including Scotland’s O2 Academy Glasgow (cap. 2,250), London’s O2 Academy Brixton (4,921) and O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (2,000). AMG has had a naming rights partnership agreement with O2 since January 2009.
Marco’s Leisure MD Paul DeMarco said, “When Marco’s Leisure bought the Corn Exchange in Chesser 22 years ago, we started with a plan to be Edinburgh’s go-to concert venue and ran over 300 live shows, as well as welcoming 3 million visitors to gigs, conferences, banquets, weddings, exhibitions and parties, creating one of the busiest and most successful venues in Scotland. We are happy to pass on the baton to the top professionals in the live music industry who will ensure it continues to play a major role in Scotland’s events industry for many more years to come. Marco’s will continue to operate and expand its leisure business.”