One of the biggest private art gallery buildings in Scotland is to be sold.

The Ingleby Gallery, first established in 1998 by Richard and Florence Ingleby, has been based at the large building in Calton Road, central Edinburgh, for eight years.

Now the building, currently one of the largest private galleries of its kind outside London, is to be sold as Ingleby Gallery moves to a venue on a smaller scale.

The art gallery business is to move to another site as the ownership say it has become clear that running "such a large gallery space in central Edinburgh is not the most appropriate use of the gallery's resources."

Before it was transformed in an art gallery, the building was formerly known as the Venue music venue and club - where bands such as Coldplay, Sonic Youth, Texas, Travis, Radiohead, Cocteau Twins and many more played, and where the dance club Pure was based.

The gallery business moved to the 1870s building, which has three floors, after the Ingleby's initially exhibited contemporary art in two rooms of the ground floor of their Edinburgh home.

At the time of the move to the building, close to Waverley Station, Mr Ingleby said it was a "huge scale up" and the couple expressed fears over the ambition of the project, especially as it was embarked upon at the time of the economic crash in 2008.

However in the last eight years, Ingleby Gallery has represented some of Scotland's leading contemporary artists such as Charles Avery, Callum Innes, Katie Paterson and Alison Watt as well as the work of the late Ian Hamilton Finlay, creator of Little Sparta.

In recent years it has also been a key venue in the success of Edinburgh's annual visual arts festival.

It is currently showing work by the Scottish artist Kevin Harman, which may be the last exhibition at the site.

The sale of the building has not yet been completed and Mr Ingleby said they will be opening a new space later this year.

It is not known what the next use of the large building will be.

He said: "Ingleby Gallery was established in 1998 as an internationally minded gallery based in Scotland.

"Eighteen years on Edinburgh continues to be both our physical and spiritual home and the centre of all our activities, but recent years have seen significant shifts in the contemporary art world and, although we have greatly enjoyed the last eight years in Calton Road, it seems clear that ownership of such a large gallery space in central Edinburgh is not the most appropriate use of the gallery’s resources."

He added: "The building is being sold to release capital in order to strengthen our activities in other areas and territories, so that we can better look after the interests of the artists and collectors with whom we work most closely."

"We will be opening a new space later in the year."

He said that "Rest assured, the next chapter will be every bit as beautiful - albeit on a smaller scale."