The Music Venue Trust has extended the deadline for investors to board its Grassroots Music Venues ownership scheme and has a musical heavyweight offering support in Ed Sheeran.

Built on the Community Share model that's saved pubs, post offices and sports fields, MVT’s Own Our Venues is trying to raise £3.5m in initial investment to acquire nine venues. The program plans to purchase the venues by year's end.

Said Sheeran, a longstanding supporter of grassroots music venues, “Own Our Venues is an initiative I’m really passionate about getting behind. Small, independent venues are so, so important to the music community, and I’ve played some of my favorite gigs of my career in these rooms. We’ve got to do all we can to protect these beautiful venues that we’ve all come to love for years to come.”

To date, the campaign has raised £355k via Crowdfunder. Larger investments are expected to be announced soon.

“We are blown away by the support already for Own Our Venues," said MVT CEO and founder Mark Davyd. "This campaign is really resonating with music fans who understand exactly how important it is to keep access to live music in our communities, our towns and cities right across the U.K. With the Own Our Venues project gathering steam, we are incredibly pleased to get Ed’s support—he knows this sector incredibly well and understands how important it is.”