ASM Global-operated UK venues set to expand with four openings by 2027

A £45.8m performance venue planned for Derby will feature 1,000sqm of exhibition space and a 2,100-seat auditorium when it opens next year. The Becketwell Performance Venue (pictured) is one of four UK event venues, operated by ASM Global Europe, set to open or reopen over the next three years. Work has been ongoing at the Derby City Council-owned venue since June last year. Councillor Nadine Peatfield told the BBC it had been “thrilling” to see it being ‘built from the ‘inside out’ with the seating area installed before the walls”. The 3,500-capacity venue, which is expected to host 200 events a year, including concerts, exhibitions, and business events, forms the second phase of a £200m regeneration scheme. It is expected to attract an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby and create over 200 new local jobs, says the council. ASM Global Europe currently runs the OVO Arena, Wembley, the AO Arena, Manchester, First Direct Arena in Leeds, P&J Live in Aberdeen and the Utilita Arena, Newcastle, among others. By Spring 2027, ASM Global Europe will also be able to add The Sage ICC in Newcastle Gateshead, Olympia London, and the Southport Marina Lake Events Centre (MLEC) to its management portfolio following extensive renovation at each site. Olympia London is being transformed through a £1.3bn regeneration project. In addition to Olympia’s exhibition spaces, the completed complex will boast two hotels, a new conference centre with a further 2,000 sqm of additional exhibition space for more than 5,000 delegates, alongside 2.5 acres of new public space. Completion of a £300m development at The Sage is expected in 2026. It will include more than 5,700sqm of exhibition and banqueting space, a 900-seat auditorium, plus 17 conference and meeting spaces. It will also benefit from 6,000 hotel rooms within walking distance. Also expected to reopen in 2026, MLEC in Southport will feature a purpose-built auditorium for up to 1,200 theatre style, complimented by 1,500sqm of exhibition space, breakouts for up to 1,000 attendees and views of the UK’s only permanent water and light show.