Millwall hopeful for green light on new 999-year lease which will be fantastic boost for club’s future

Millwall Football Club are hoping to get the green light on a new 999-year lease for their home when a Lewisham council meeting takes place next week.

The Lions are seeking to get the new leases granted across three separate sites surrounding their Den home, including the relocation of facilities for the Millwall Community Trust.

The council currently owns the freehold of the land leased to Millwall on a 150-year lease from 1993, along with the adjoining Lions Centre, which was leased to MCT on a 25-year lease which started in November 2004.

The 150-year lease with Millwall is due to terminate in September 2143.

In the council’s agenda for the Mayor and Cabinet department meeting, which takes place on May 8, it states: “The current lease precludes redevelopment of the site or any part of it for any other use, including residential use.

“However, the council and the club share an aspiration to see development come forward on the site of the ground and the surrounding land.

“There is an unrealised potential for new homes and a healthy mix of uses in this part of the borough, which has been home to the club for over a century.

“To that end, the council has been exploring a revised lease structure with MFC.

“This followed earlier proposals for the incorporation of the parts of the MFC demised site into a scheme developed and promoted by Renewal Ltd in 2016.

“Since then, the council has worked with the stakeholders independently and with MFC, in particular, to enable development of the site, subject to mutually acceptable terms of a new lease structure.

“It will also require the grant of a longer lease than the current unexpired term remaining on the lease to MFC. Typically, lease terms in the region of 999 years are usually the norm for such comprehensive developments.

“According to the council’s constitution, the grant of such long-term leases is a matter for the executive – requiring Mayor and cabinet authority to effect.”

A Millwall spokesman said: “The club notes the release of a document ahead of a Lewisham council meeting on May 8, 2024 which lists as an agenda item a discussion on Millwall and heads of terms relating to a lease agreement on the land around The Den.

“There have been productive developments on this front in recent months and the club is excited by the prospect of an outcome which is positive for the future of Millwall. The club will await the outcome of a crucial meeting before commenting further.”