Glasgow Sub Club fundraiser hits £85,000 in five hours

A campaign to save a Glasgow nightclub which has been open for more than 30 years has raised more than £85,000 in five hours.

Sub Club is at risk of permanent closure and 31 people are at risk of losing their jobs due to what staff call a double-blow from coronavirus, directing blame at HMRC and the Prime Minister.

The Save Our Sub Crowdfunder launched at 10am on Tuesday and had raised more than £85,643 by 3pm to save the venue on the city’s Jamaica Street.

Mike Grieve, managing director, said: “Months of mistakes on HMRC’s part caused us to miss out on eligibility for the furlough scheme by a single day.

“The reality for us at the moment is that we’ll be lucky if we open this year – the very nature of the business means that opening with social distancing requirements in place seems impossible.

“We need to do everything we can to stay afloat during these times and our battle with HMRC has made this pandemic an even greater struggle.

“It seems grossly unfair that more than 30 people have to lose their jobs and our great wee venue, much loved by generations of Glaswegians, is under serious threat due to a simple technicality.

“What’s particularly galling about this situation is hearing the repeated statements from the Prime Minister and other ministers that they will do ‘whatever it takes’ to save businesses and protect jobs.

“Boris Johnson said in parliament: ‘We will continue to support our businesses’ and ‘get this country through this crisis by doing everything it takes’.

“What we’re going through feels like doing everything possible to deny us and our employees the support we urgently need.”

The club has been a mainstay of the UK’s music scene since it opened in 1987 and is one of the world’s longest-running underground dance venues.

Lockdown measures have created a shortfall of more than £250,000 in the company’s income for 2020.

The firm said it has lost more than £30,000 in furlough payments and it has been forced to place all of its 31 full and part-time staff on unpaid leave.

A host of freelance DJs, music promoters and technical workers also rely on the club for their regular income.

An HMRC spokesman said: “The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been delivered at unprecedented pace and is protecting millions of jobs up and down the country.

“If an employer believes there have been mistakes or unreasonable delays with their application caused by HMRC, they should follow our complaints process which can be found on the gov.uk website.”