Bids to run the Electric Theatre, shut since August 2025, close at midday on 30 October. The council is also testing a purely commercial use for the building.
Guildford Borough Council has started looking for someone to run the Electric Theatre. The venue has been empty since August 2025.
Organisations have until midday on Friday 30 October to register an interest. The council is not only looking for a theatre operator: it is also testing whether a purely commercial use of the building would work better (Guildford Borough Council, 25 September 2026).
What the council is asking for
The exercise is being run for the council by the consultants Blue Horizon Ventures. It is a market test, not the contract itself. A formal procurement follows once the council knows who is interested.
It covers two routes:
- a cultural or hybrid model, mixing arts, community use and commercial activity
- a commercial or alternative-use model
The council says it wants to hear how an operator would offer:
- local jobs
- affordable and accessible prices, with as much community access as possible
- a strong cultural and commercial programme
- a business model that lasts the full contract term
It also wants to know whether operators think grant funding would be needed.
Key dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 14 October, 3.30pm | Online Operator Market Day, hosted by Blue Horizon Ventures |
| Friday 30 October, midday | Deadline for expressions of interest and Operator Response Forms |
| Later in 2026 | Report back to the council’s Executive with recommendations |
Places at the market day are booked by email to Blue Horizon Ventures. Responses go through the SE Shared Services e-sourcing portal, under “Electric Theatre - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice” (Shaping the future of The Electric Theatre).
How it got here
The building was an electricity works before it became a theatre in 1997. The council owns it. The lease was surrendered back to the council in August 2025 and it has been vacant since (Electric Theatre FAQs).
A community survey ran in November and December 2025 and drew 799 responses (survey analysis, February 2026). It found:
- 70% of respondents had been to the theatre in the previous three years
- only 3% went weekly and 7% monthly; 32% went once a year
- the commonest reason for staying away was “nothing I wanted to see” (51%)
- 18% had not realised the theatre was open
- among those who found nothing to see, 83% wanted live music, 63% festivals and 56% comedy
In February 2026 the Executive hired an independent specialist to test whether a community arts venue could pay its way. In June it agreed that a hybrid model was the right one, approved a procurement and set aside £50,000 for an industry expert to support it (Executive report, 25 June 2026).
The money
The consultants’ appraisal says the building is “fundamentally sound”. It still needs work: the retractable seating is described as being in poor condition, with worn upholstery and defective parts (Blue Horizon Ventures options appraisal).
It prices the priority repairs and upgrades at between £235,000 and £455,000 or more:
- outside the building: £35,000 to £55,000 or more
- inside, including seating, compliance and customer areas: £200,000 to £400,000 or more
The council has £275,000 in its 2026/27 capital budget for the work, agreed by Full Council in February. Its June report says that is “anticipated” to be enough to bring the building up to compliance standards. The consultants’ range runs well above it.
Running the theatre would probably need public money too. The appraisal gives typical yearly support for venues of this size:
| Operating model | Typical support a year |
|---|---|
| Commercial operator | £0 to £150,000 |
| Hybrid or charitable (the most common) | £150,000 to £500,000 |
| Run by the council | £300,000 to £800,000 or more |
The council’s own FAQ says most hybrid models “are expected to need some level of subsidy”. The appraisal names an Everyman-style cinema as an example of a commercial fallback, which would mean the loss of the theatre’s cultural role.
What it means for you
If you run a theatre company, arts charity, music promoter or venue business, this is the moment to get in. The shape of the contract is being set by who responds now.
For everyone else, the building is protected for a while yet. It is registered as an Asset of Community Value until 2031. If the council ever tried to sell it, the community group that registered it would be told, and a sale would be paused for six months to give it time to bid.
The council says keeping the theatre shut is not an option it recommends, because an empty building costs it money. Any final decision may also need the approval of the West Surrey Shadow Authority, the body setting up the council that replaces Guildford Borough Council next spring. We covered the new town council being created at the same time in our report on Guildford Parish Council.
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