JP Anquetil, owner of ROJO nightclub, launched the appeal having accumulated £45,000 of debt after Covid forced the club to close last March.
After receiving what he claimed was ‘wholly inadequate’ support from the government, Mr Anquetil said he had no choice but to follow in the footsteps of other UK nightclubs such as Egg London and Glasgow’s Sub Club, which have launched similar fundraising campaigns.
‘The situation had got so dire and it really was a last resort. I never expected to get close to the £15,000 target but it has been really humbling and a relief to see the generosity of our community, who have pulled together in a time when so many people have financial problems of their own,’ he said.
Having reached the £15,000 mark with 12 days of the campaign still to go, Mr Anquetil has now upped the target to £17,000.
‘Since we have a few days left I have bumped up the target, in case there is anyone else who wishes to donate,’ he said.
‘This will help massively. It would be a real shame if we had to close as we are one of the few nightclubs left on the local scene, which is already a fraction of what it used to be.’
Mr Anquetil said he would use the money to pay off some of the debts including electricity bills, insurance and rent.
He added: ‘As per usual, the government has been dragging its feet on any specific support for our industry, which we have continually called for. Without this money I don’t know how much longer I would have survived.
‘Hopefully, with the introduction of the vaccine, we can get back to some form of normality this year and welcome people back into the club. It would be great to see everyone’s generous donations pay off and see people back in the club dancing again.’
