Wakefield gin festival cancelled as organiser placed into administration

The festival, organised by Gin Festival Limited, was one of 20 planned gin events planned for the coming months around the country.

Insolvency practitioners from Begbies Traynor were appointed as administrators to the company, which traded as GinFestival.com, which was based in Keighley.

An attempt was made to find a buyer, but with no offers madee, the company ceased with immediate effect, resulting in all 27 members of staff made redundant and the entire programme of festivals being cancelled.

GinFestival.com, which was established in 2013, encountered financial difficulties after it invested heavily in expanding its online presence.

The business attempted to bring online ticket sales for its events in house and also set up an e-commerce operation selling craft gins direct to customers, both of which increased the financial burden on the company.

The company will not be in a position to reimburse ticket holders in relation to advance tickets bought for any of the events scheduled between now and November, including Wakefield.

Julian Pitts of Begbies Traynor said: “It’s a huge shame that Gin Festival.com has been placed in administration. The loss of jobs is always extremely disappointing and in this case approximately 20,000 tickets have also been sold for forthcoming events which will not be reimbursed as part of the administration process.

“Anyone who has purchased tickets for any of the events organised by GinFestival.com would be best advised to check with their credit or debit card provider as to whether they may be covered for the loss under the Chargeback system.

“Our aim was, of course, to find a purchaser for the business as a going concern in order to safeguard the jobs, but unfortunately, despite our efforts, this did not prove possible.

“We are now in the process of realising what assets we can in order to achieve the best possible returns for creditors.”