ASM Global, the venue management giant formed by the merger of AEG Facilities and SMG, is set to manage and operate the new 3,500 capacity performance venue at Becketwell Derby.

St James Securities, developers of the £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme, and Derby City Council have announced that ASM Global has been awarded preferred bidder status. St James Securities has exchanged contracts with the Council to forward-fund the project.

Derby City Council has assisted with land assembly for the development and St James Securities will deliver the performance venue to the Council with ASM Global to sign a 30-year lease. This will remove the development and financial operating risk from the Council.

ASM Global said the venue will be a fully flexible, scalable space capable of staging concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, conferences, and exhibitions.

ASM Global, which manages venues including AO Arena, Manchester (cap. 21,000), SSE Wembley Arena (12,500), and First Direct Arena, Leeds (13,781), said the purpose-built venue in Derby will include a 3,500-capacity events auditorium, plus a smaller 400-capacity secondary space.

It is projected that the venue will host around 200 cultural and commercial events each year and attract an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby. The Becketwell scheme is set to generate more than £10m per year for the area.

Work on the performance venue is set to commence in early 2022, with handover to the operator in 2024.

It is hoped the investment at Becketwell will provide confidence for further new investment in surrounding areas of the city centre. More than 2,000 jobs are expected to be created by the development.

ASM Global group commercial director and senior VP Europe, Tom Lynch said, “The city has a rich history of events and culture, and Derby represented an obvious choice for ASM Global in expanding our extensive global portfolio of over 350 venues, which will see us launching into the UK Midlands region for the first time.”

Lynch added, “We have been inspired by the vision shared for the city, and the growth and opportunities for the East Midlands economy more broadly. Along with a busy concert and entertainment programme, the venue will attract a wide range of business events and provide a great meeting place and activation platform for the region’s world-leading industrial sectors.”