Venue operator TVG Hospitality raises $50m to expand UK and US portfolio

Music venue developer and operator TVG Hospitality, founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, has raised $50m in new funding to expand its team and venue portfolio in the UK and US. Founded by Lovett and his brother Greg, former finance director at Soho House, the firm currently operates three venues in London, Omeara (cap. 320), Lafayette (600) and the Social (250), as well as broader hospitality offerings at Flat Iron Square (350) and Goods Way (1,200). It also has multiple venues under development in the US, including the 8,000-capacity Orion Amphitheater (pictured) in Huntsville, Alabama, which opens in May. The financing was led by Nat Zilkha and Gibson Brands, with participation from C3 Presents, Irving Azoff and Oak View Group, Mike Luba and Don Sullivan, Justin Kalifowitz and Andrew Bergman, Coran Capshaw, Ron Laffitte, Lucy Dickins, Adam Tudhope and Tom Windish, Ryan Tedder, Maggie Rogers and Ted Dwane. Ben Lovett said: “Music is the ultimate leveller—somewhere between melody and lyric is a truth that calls us away from our phones and out of our living rooms to stand together and sing together. The plans we have in mind are rooted in elevating these experiences surrounding live music.” In addition to its leadership group which includes Ben and Greg’s father David Lovett, co-founder and former vice-chairman of Alix Partners in Europe, who acts as chairman of the company, and Graham Brown, who is chief development officer, TVG has added Jesse Mann (formerly SVP, strategy and operations, AC Entertainment/Live Nation), Dan Pine (formerly managing director at Marathon Asset Management and development partner to the related companies), and Lisa Seelinger (formerly head of people for Bergdorf Goodman and Maybourne Hotel Group). David Lovett said: “We have purposefully built a leadership team with extensive experience across music, hospitality, real estate and finance. We are building our company like we create our venues, with intention, so that our assets and TVG become valuable and sustainable parts of each of the communities in which we operate.” Funding was also provided by entrepreneurs and hospitality industry workers including Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, Joe Gebbia, Olga Segura, Tom Kartsotis, Samantha Marquart, Brent Montgomery, Ann Berry, Bippy Siegal, and Dani Ricciardo, as well as investors LionTree, Goldman Sachs, John Howard, Pete Muller and multiple partners from KKR.