Beachdown Blames The Bank

Plenty of U.K. businesses have blamed cashflow problems on bank lending policies, but the organisers of Brighton’s Beachdown Festival appear to be the first to say the money men are responsible for an outdoor event being canceled.

A note on the Beachdown Web site, which admits the event was already suffering from poor ticket sales, says a “lack of support at a critical time from our bank” caused the 2009 edition to be scrapped at the 11th hour.

“We are personally shattered, especially after 11 months of battling against the recession to try and put this event on and coming so close,” it said. “We also wish to advise everyone that we explored every possible avenue to finance the event, including re-mortgaging our houses to combat the unwillingness of banks to support us.”

Joe Pidgeon, one of the organisers, told local newspapers he felt “like a dead man walking” after he and the three other directors, including Darren Murphy, a Brighton DJ, took the decision to cancel the event.

The fans who did buy the £90 tickets aren’t likely to get refunds, although they have been told to hang onto them and use them to gain entry to a series of other events in the Brighton area.

The festival, which was to have been held near Devil’s Dyke on the South Downs, East Sussex, was to feature The Zutons and Grace Jones.

Newspaper estimates say between 6,000 and 10,000 tickets were sold, although there’s been no official confirmation.