London club FOLD ordered to close down immediately

The venue’s 24-hour license has been suspended.

London club FOLD has been ordered to close down immediately by Newham Council. The venue announced the news this morning (13 November), stating: “Last night, serious accusations were brought to us and the local licensing committee. As a result of such, our license has been suspended and an immediate shut down of the club, without fair trial, has been imposed.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

We regretfully announce that our license to operate has been suspended by Newham Council. This news has hit us by surprise and extremely hard. Last night, serious accusations were brought to us and the local licensing committee. As a result of such, our license has been suspended and an immediate shut down of the club, without fair trial, has been imposed. We feel extremely blessed to have built a community around FOLD that can’t be compared or replicated. Every single one of you has made FOLD more than just four walls and a sound-system; we all have created a new way of thinking, a way of uniting and more importantly, given a refreshing meaning to the words safe space. This is all thanks to you, our community. We are currently appealing the suspension with the aim to maintain our operation for this weekend and events moving forward. We offer our most sincere apologies to anyone affected by this decision, we can ensure you that we are working as hard as we can to get to the bottom of this, no matter what. You are the reason we are fighting, and are our daily motivation. Stay put, we are not giving up. More information coming soon.

A post shared by FOLD (@fold.ldn) on Nov 13, 2019 at 1:00am PST

The club is currently appealing the decision, which they claim was made unfairly, and they hope to remain open for the coming weekend.

FOLD opened last year on an industrial estate in Canning Town, Newham, and it was the first venue of its kind to have a 24-hour license. Upon its opening, the team behind the venue promised to “strive to do things differently in London”. Read Crack Magazine’s piece on the venue’s opening weekend here.

Update:

Newham Council has released a public document stating that FOLD has had its licensed suspended due to an allegation of fraud.

The document states: “The allegation of fraud relating to approximately £200,000 worth of material is a serious one; so serious that it is being investigated by the National Crime Agency. It is my understanding that the two persons arrested and under investigation, are actively involved in the running and operation of the premises; one of those persons is the sole director of Artsintheeast Ltd, which is the premises licence holder, Lasha Zhorzholiani.”