Exclusive:Summerhall future revealed after Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue put up for sale

A deal between Summerhall's managers and the owners of the building, which was put on the open market in May, is expected to rescue its year-round programme of events for the foreseeable future.

A new Summerhall Arts charity has launched a fundraising campaign to help meet the running costs of the venue and its work.

It also hopes to reach a further agreement with the successful bidder of the complex - which has become one of the most important venues for new theatre work and live music at the festival since it started hosting shows in 2011.

The lease agreement, which will see Summerhall’s current management continue to run events and programme its Fringe line-up, is expected to save around 45 jobs at the venue, which is being used for the Edinburgh International Film Festival for the first time.

Summerhall, which has grown to become one of the biggest privately-owned arts centres in Europe, was put up for sale in May by Oesselmann Estates Limited, the Isle of Man-based family-owned trust which Summerhall founder Robert McDowell is a director of.

Estate agents handling the sale have suggested the site could become home to student housing, boutique hotels or offices. The move prompted the launch of a petition backed by more than 14,000 supporters calling for the “crucial cultural asset” to be saved.

However the prospect of a three-year lease agreement being clinched within weeks has raised hopes that a cultural hub can be retained at the site in the long-term if an extended lease can be negotiated with its future owners.

All of the main performance and exhibition spaces are expected to remain in use for the next three years under the proposed lease, which has been drawn up after extensive talks with between the current manager of the venue, Summerhall’s owners and selling agents Cuthbert White, who have set a closing date of 18 September for formal bids for the 130,000 sq ft site.

Summerhall Arts chief executive Sam Gough told The Scotsman: “We’ve no idea who is going to buy Summerhall, what is going to happen with it or whether there will be any sensible offers for it at all.

“Our aim has been to create the ability to stay at Summerhall to consistently do the job that we want to do.

“A three-year lease basically buys us time. When the new owners come in we will hopefully be able to negotiate a much longer lease with them.

"Summerhall, and all that happens within it, is a vital part of the cultural landscape in the city and it is imperative that it remains."

TV director and producer Debbie Christie, a member of the Summerhall Arts board, said: “We know this is ambitious and we can’t achieve it without public support.

"Summerhall is a much-loved venue which brings international acclaim to Scotland during the Fringe, but also provides a welcoming, safe, open and well-used venue for the wider public and arts community throughout the year.

"We will need as much support as we can get to make this happen and we will be announcing more ways people can help us as we go forward.”