The first live comedy venue has confirmed they are in receipt of the business rates support package announced by the government in January. Following the intervention from the Live Comedy Association (LCA) immediately after the announcement, the Treasury confirmed the support would be applied to live comedy clubs which have a “clubs & premises” registration.
The Bill Murray (London) has confirmed they have received the support which is worth thousands of pounds to the venues.
Other clubs may be entitled to the support and the LCA have offered free support to venues who need advice.
The government announced the support package (on 27th January 2026) would benefit pubs and live music venues. On hearing the news the Live Comedy Association contacted government and partner organisations to query whether live comedy venues would be included. They received confirmation subject to further guidance being issued by each local authority.
The LCA has been working hard over the last 18 months to lobby government to recognise live comedy as a specific sector and included alongside other art forms as a vital part of the UK’s creative industries. This work in on-going but has included meetings in parliament, with politicians and civil servants, as well as lobbying for live comedy to be included in policy and strategy documents.
Jessica Toomey co-Chair of the LCA, said “we are delighted to announce the first live comedy venue who are benefitting from the support package announced by Government. This really helps us put live comedy venues in the same position as live music venues in terms of their importance to the larger live entertainment ecosystem, and to communities of fans and performers across the UK. We will continue to represent our 1500 members and champion the grassroots live comedy sector.”
James O’Donnell from The Bill Murray said “we are hugely grateful to the Live Comedy Association for stepping in so quickly and making the case for live comedy to be included in the business rates support package. Life remains tough for venues like ours and any support like this is really welcome. We have now benefitted from the support and hope other live comedy venues get the same support and the impact is spread widely across our community.”
Live comedy venues who currently don’t have the relevant registration with their local authority can work to change their registration and the LCA is able to give further information and support about this.
The LCA is producing Live Comedy Day on 1st April 2026, a national celebration of grassroots live comedy. Further information is available from www.livecomedyday.co.uk
The Stand Up And Give Fund, raising money to support grassroots live comedy across the UK, has so far raised £15,000. For more information, and to donate, click here.
Picture ©Brucedessau
