The owner of an iconic nightclub which was torched last year says he has "full confidence" that the renovated venue will be as popular as ever. SWX will literally rise from the ashes next month, boasting a £3.5 million refit aimed at making it one of Britain’s top concert venues for both artists and music fans.
Covid-19 lockdown rules had already shut SWX last July, when an arsonist pushed a fuel-soaked towel through its locked doors and set it alight. The resulting inferno took 130 firefighters four hours to bring under control. Fire, smoke and water damage meant the premises, which had been due to reopen that month, would spend a further 14 months under lock and key.
Nightclub operator Electric Group bought SWX in 2017, hoping to reposition it as a leading concert venue. In late June, the firm finally announced a grand reopening date of September 9, having spent seven months refitting the premises. By the time SWX reopens, it will have been closed for 903 days.
