Owners of Birmingham’s biggest gay nightclub say the venue has seen a massive boost in the numbers of clubbers going through its doors.

David Nash

Visitors to the city’s iconic Nightingale Club are up by 25 per cent over the past ten months, they say.

The increase in clubbers through the door is good news for owner Lawrence Barton who rescued the Kent Street club after it went into administration in November last year.

The Birmingham businessman, whose family business GB Holdings Ltd runs five other venues in Southside, has pledged to invest more than £1 million in the club over the next three years.

David Nash, group operations director for GB Holdings Ltd, said: “We have grown footfall through the door by 25 per cent since taking over at the end of last year.

“The club now regularly attracts in excess of 1,000 clubbers most Saturdays. Obviously that’s good news for the club but it is also an indication that we are establishing Birmingham, and Southside in particular, as a destination of choice for clubbers from other parts of the country.”

The venue has recently attracted acts including The Saturdays, Stooshe, Brit and MOBO award winner Lemar, Lawson, Marcus Collins and Stacey Solomon, as well as impromptu appearances from celebrities visiting the city.

Mr Nash said: “Investing in great entertainment and providing varied club nights as well as a revamp of the three floors is starting to bring revelers back to what has always been one of the city’s most iconic venues.”

Lawrence Barton, who runs the successful Loft Lounge, Penthouse and Village Inn venues in Southside as well as the Urban Kitchen, is about to launch a new venture in Hurst Street called Queer, formerly the Purple Bar & Lounge.

Barton, who is Birmingham Pride’s director and sits on the board of Southside BID, said; “The Nightingale Club is a venue of paramount importance not only to Birmingham but to the UK’s wider gay community.

I have always said that I am very keen to see that the Nightingale once again becomes one of the biggest gay super clubs in the country, which is not only good for the LGBT community but also good for Southside and Birmingham’s economy.

”The figures out today which show a 25 per cent increase in the numbers of people visiting the club is very welcome and a step in the right direction for the long term future of The Nightingale.”