The owner of Rushden’s former bingo hall is advertising the space to local businesses and organisations in an effort to make use of the historic town centre building and make good on their £400,000 purchase.

Oliver Mcloughlin, owner of Investment Street, bought The Ritz at auction in October 2024 and after a period of renovation put the College Street building back on the market in April for £795,000, which has since been reduced to £595,000.

Now Investment Street, a company based on the Northamptonshire border near Milton Keynes, is exploring all options with the historic Grade II-listed building, including the possibility of renting out parts of the space to local businesses, and is prepared to provide up to £100,000 of fit-out and start-up support to help ‘restore a building at the heart of Rushden for generations.’

Oliver said: “I was surprised to get it. In many ways it’s expensive because of the amount of work it needs doing, but in some way it's cheap because of the amount of space we have.

Oliver Mcloughlin, of Investment Street, bought the former cinema and bingo hall in October 2024

placeholder image — Oliver Mcloughlin, of Investment Street, bought the former cinema and bingo hall in October 2024

“People have asked me if I’m happy I bought it and I don’t know yet, ask me again in five years. At the moment, I like the attention it gives, it’s fun. It’s got a lot of local people talking.

“We’re a HMO business and we’ve bought a lot of commercial buildings recently and turned them to HMOs and that’s what I thought to to do here. As we’ve gone into it, it’s going to cost a lot of money to put that in, it’s not just a case of putting it in and that’s done.

"If we get a good offer we’re happy to rent it out or sell the whole thing.”

Oliver bought the property for the ‘residential aspect’ as his company specialises in the development of houses in multiple occupation (HMO), however after some time developing the building, it was deemed ‘not economically viable.’

The building features an auditorium with approximately 220 seats

Inside, parts of the building have been sectioned off to create distinct spaces which can be used for a variety of purposes, including a cafe in the room formerly used as the cinema’s foyer, an approximately 220-seat auditorium for entertainment events and a large room (dubbed ‘Unit F’) which can be renovated to suit a mix of uses.

As part of the ongoing plans for the site, open days are being held for local businesses who may be keen to occupy a space in the building, from local organisations to potential operators who would reinstate bingo in the building.

Oliver added: “With these kind of buildings you can be really brutal with it, but I want to save it, I love architecture.

“Some organisations may not have much money, but a lot of passion. It seems a shame, if they got the funding they needed they could do what they want."

The 8,194 sq ft building opened as The Ritz cinema in 1936 and was most recently used as a bingo hall after being converted in September 1982, which it had been for the past 40 years.

However in December 2022, bosses made the decision to close, citing the unexpected Covid pandemic, issues with public transport and the projection of rising costs to run a successful town centre business.

The Ritz remains on the market, with the full listing online here.