Music / News
Festicket collapse impacts popular Bristol nightclub
Bristol nightclub bosses and partners say they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds following the collapse of Festicket.
The news that the ticket booking system has gone into administration has dealt a blow to many across the events and music industry.
In a statement released on social media, the Motion team said they and event partners are owed in excess of £300,000 due to not receiving payments for tickets sold through their platforms.
is needed now More than ever
The nightclub has now changed vendors but confirmed that all tickets bought through the previous ticketing partners are still valid for upcoming events.
In the statement, the Motion team said: “As you may know from purchasing tickets through our website, Festicket and Ticket Arena were our ticketing partners for Motion and have been for the last six years.
“Our event partners and Motion are owed in excess of £300,000 due to not receiving payments for tickets sold through their platforms. Last weekend, we had an event which sold out at 3,000 tickets, the promoter still hasn’t received all of their ticket funds for the event. These funds are vital for covering staff wages as well as artist fees and other expenses which have already been paid out ahead of the event, leaving promoters and venues out of pocket if payments aren’t received.
“Once the ticketing company has deducted their booking fees, the remaining ticket money should be held in a client account and therefore not touched. However, despite this, we are now being told that key assets are being sold off and the debt stands to be ‘liquidated’.
“This will cause a huge amount of damage to the events industry that has already had a terrible few years and many venues and promoters in the UK will be affected by this.”
Since the initial statement, Motion are now calling on HMRC to intervene, saying: “In the interest of the events industry, we are calling on HMRC to immediately pause any deals that see assets sold from Festicket and we urge them to carry out an in-depth investigation of what has happened here.”
Festicket dealt with more than 1,000 events in some 50 countries.
The blow comes as the music, and culture sector in general, continues to struggle with life post-pandemic as well as the rising costs of living.
Main photo: Sam Roberts
Read next:
- Venue of the Month: The Mothers’ Ruin
- Review: Cafe Mambo, Motion – ‘The sweltering heat was rivalled by the heat from the decks’
- Nightclub appeals for support as sound complaints increase
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