Co-op Live: Manchester’s new concert venue was hit by delays, but a false start need not mean it’s blighted forever

By Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of Portsmouth

The opening of any new business can be a nerve-wracking affair. Will everything work? Will things go wrong? Will the whole enterprise fall flat on its face?

For the owners of a new concert venue in Manchester, things went very wrong. The £365 million Co-op Live arena was supposed to launch on April 23 with a performance by comedian Peter Kay. But after technical issues emerged, it had to be cancelled at the last minute.

Then the show was cancelled again. Kay, and thousands of ticket holders,…

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