The building was owned and managed by Southampton Methodist Circuit with City Life Church providing assistance with the day-to-day operations.

The building includes a number of halls and smaller rooms in addition to the main auditorium, as well as a manse and some workshops.

The transfer - technically a sale at nil value - was justified on the basis of the significant maintenance costs, with an estimate that over £900,000 worth of repairs to the building were needed.

[3] However, in April 2018[4] the Council noted that "it has not been possible to find an acceptable form of wording for the requirements for a trust of sale" This was partly because Model Trust 20 included a "reverter" clause which meant that, should a building be subsequently sold by the new owner, net proceeds of that sale should be given to the Methodist Church.

[5] In 2021, the Methodist Church again altered the Model Trust 20 policy, introducing clause 6: "Once the Council has approved the ‘in principle’ decision to sell for less than best price, completion of the sale must take place within three years from that point.