Has it all gone Pete Tong at London’s coolest nightclub? Ministry of Sound boasted Britain’s top DJs – but now faces being turned into luxury flats

• The land where the former warehouse stands is up for sale for £50million 
• It opened its doors in 1991 and still attracts 300,000 revellers a year

It was hailed as Britain’s hippest nightclub when it opened its doors in 1991 and still attracts 300,000 revellers a year.

But the Ministry of Sound in South London now faces closure in a plan to sell off the site to make way for luxury flats.

A consortium of companies that owns the 1.34-acre freehold site in Southwark where the former warehouse stands has put the land up for sale for £50million.

As the club’s lease runs out in September next year, it’s likely the developers who buy the land will see the venue as an obstruction to plans to build an apartment block.

Launched by Eton-educated entrepreneur James Palumbo (now Lord Palumbo of Southwark) in 1991, the Ministry of Sound is where some of the world’s most famous DJs, including Fatboy Slim and Pete Tong, cut their teeth. 

PICTURED:Rulin at Ministry of Sound London in August 1999. It opened its doors in 1991 and still attracts 300,000 revellers a yea

As the club’s lease runs out in September next year, it’s likely the developers who buy the land which is up for sale for £50million

Film stars and supermodels flocked to the club, which famously turned away those it didn’t consider trendy enough, including anyone from Coronation Street and EastEnders.

But the Ministry no longer enjoys the cool allure it once did, and one consultancy recently called it ‘the Marks & Spencer of the nightclub world’, adding: ‘It’s a tired brand.’

However, Lord Palumbo, who launched a petition signed by more than 25,000 people when a previous redevelopment plan threatened the club’s future in 2013, is still determined to fight off any attempt to close it down.

He said: ‘We have a right to stay where we are. The club has been here for over 30 years and is part of the Southwark furniture. We have been through this before and are not afraid of a fight.’

The Ministry no longer enjoys the cool allure it once did, and one consultancy recently called it ‘the Marks & Spencer of the nightclub world’, adding: ‘It’s a tired brand’

Top DJ Judge Jules said: ‘My long-standing connection with the Ministry of Sound opened me up to a global audience that I probably wouldn’t have reached otherwise.

‘Ministry of Sound should not be under threat from greedy developers and should stay open.’

Lord Palumbo himself has moved into the world of politics, becoming a Liberal Democrat peer in 2013. after donating heavily to the party.

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