Securing The Money First

The liquidator winding up the affairs of SecureTicket UK says his first priority is to raise money for creditors. Then he will investigate why the company foundered.

Nick Simmonds of Tenon Recovery told Pollstar he has two parties interested in the ticket company’s software and is hopeful it will raise some cash to help offset the bankrupt company’s debts.

“The money that’s gone has gone and nobody can do anything about that,” he explained. “If I don’t focus on raising money from the assets that are left, then an opportunity could be lost and more money will have gone.”

The company crashed when it filed for administration just days before Cambridge City Council, which claims to be owed £618,000 from the sale of tickets for its world-famous folk festival, could obtain a High Court order for it to be wound up.

The Cambridge money is one of the first things Simmonds will look at after he’s dealt with the asset disposal. He said the directors have shown him documents suggesting the folk festival money was mistaken for a similar amount that SecureTicket UK was expecting from new investors.

The company appears to have spent the money on the belief that it came from investors, then realised it was the money the payment processor should have sent to Cambridge. The investment money never materialised.

Cambridge City Council leader Ian Nimmo-Smith said the loss of the money hasn’t put the festival under threat, even if it means local council tax payers have to foot the bill.

This year the 10,000-capacity event at Cherryhinton Hall is July 30 to August 2.