Jongleurs in talks over flagship venue

Comedy chain Jongleurs is in discussions to purchase a flagship London venue in the West End.

The operator, now owned by Maria Kempinska and run by managing director David Elphick, revealed it hopes to tie up a deal for its 8th site soon.

The deal is set to be funded by the £2m worth of backing secured from investment firm Ingenious last month.

Jongleurs has also tied up a deal with Tesco, which will enable Clubcard holders to redeem their points for tickets to any of the seven Jongleurs or the four sites Luminar operates under the Jongleurs brand in Leeds, Norwich, Cardiff and Newcastle.

"It's great to be partnering alongside a brand like Tesco," said Elphick. "At Jongleurs we are working hard to stay at the forefront of the UK comedy scene, bringing in the best acts around to some fantastic venues.

"This latest announcement is one in a long line of innovations that we've been working on to ensure the public has increased access to both our venues and comedians, including the introduction of Jongleurs 'On The Road', where leisure operators can enlist the help of Jongleurs to bring comedy nights to their venues and enjoy substantial additional incomes."

Jongleurs has also booked the Hammersmith Apollo in March next year for "Jongleurs Live at The Apollo".

Kempinska said: "This will be the first in a series of huge concerts and further proves that comedy can be a transient art that can assist leisure businesses in widening their appeal, something that is vital in these current trading conditions."