Published
Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 17:15
- The legal procedure grants businesses protection from creditors while they pursue a rescue plan.
The future of UK festival package company Festicket is unknown after it filed a moratorium on Companies House.
Introduced in June 2020 to stop businesses collapsing during the pandemic, the legal procedure grants companies a 20-day period of protection from creditors while they pursue a rescue plan. Festicket's moratorium began on August 17th and will end on September 15th, according to Companies House. Festicket could apply for an extension.
Companies typically seek moratoriums when they're trying to restructure or secure additional investment. During the 20-day period, the company remains under control of management and must still pay staff wages and salaries, redundancies and any goods or services supplied during the moratorium, among other things.
The whole process is overseen by a licensed insolvency practitioner, whose role is partly to protect the interests of the creditors. In Festicket's case, the creditors might be festival promoters owed for past or upcoming events.
Launched in 2012, Festicket sells transport, accommodation and ticket packages for dozens of festivals around the world, partnering with the likes of Southport Weekender, All Points East and Junction 2. In 2019, it was named the 80th fastest growing company by the FT 1000.
Earlier this month, Pollen, another company offering all-in-one festival experiences, entered administration after failing to find investment. This has left dozens of promoters, freelancers, artists and vendors out of pocket.
Photo: Tijs van Leur