Aerial view of the new look Guild Hall

Preston’s Guild Hall has been officially sold to Simon Rigby.

A meeting of the city council’s cabinet on Friday lunchtime approved the sale of the entertainment venue to the local millionaire.

Rigby, who runs a catering and events business, has pledged to invest £1 million in refurbishing the venue.

The deal, which includes the Charter Theatre, is thought to be worth more than £1 million to the city council and will save the Town Hall at least £650,000 a year in running costs.

Council officers and Rigby’s team are expected to thrash out the finer points of the deal to see the Rigby team running the venue from October.

The building is being subsidised by the city council to the tune of more than £1 million a year as it struggles to attract top notch entertainment to Preston.

Rigby has outlined a more “flexible” vision for the venue, including having more community-based entertainment and plans for restaurants, cafe and space for start-up businesses within the Guild Hall complex.

The plan points to more of a food offering at the Guild Hall complex

The former Morrisons store which was part of the building is understood to not be included in the sale to Rigby.

The Guild Hall was built in the early 1970s and can hold more than 2,000 people in the main hall. It’s hosted many famous acts over the decades, five of which we’ve plucked out in this list.

What do you think of the deal? Are you happy to see the Guild Hall go into private hands Let us know in the comments below