“There was no wrongdoing, corruption or scam”: Comedy Festival organisers speak out

The directors of Tiki Events Ltd have released a statement regarding the cancellation of the Salisbury Comedy Festival and the Origin Music Festival.

The viability of the events came into question this week as ticket holders took to social media to express their concerns after they discovered that the festival’s website and Facebook page had been taken down without any update on the status of the events.

Love Salisbury reported earlier today (17th March 2022) that the events are cancelled with Tiki Events Ltd entering the liquidation process. Ticket website Skiddle advises that ticket holders check their email or order history for further information.

Now, the directors of Tiki Events Ltd, Nathan Muirhead and Chantelle Strong, have issued a statement.

It reads, “It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of Salisbury Comedy Festival and Origin Music Festival in July 2022.

“Last summer we made the very difficult decision to reschedule the festivals due to a lack of government direction surrounding larger scale events. Despite the financial consequences, we were determined to create a positive impact in the community and so focussed our efforts on delivering a series of smaller events over the summer and autumn. These events did not achieve the sales we anticipated, putting the company in a challenging financial position.

“In October we decided to pause activity with a view to relaunch Salisbury Comedy Festival and Origin Festival in Spring. Unfortunately, our plans to maintain a steady income over Christmas were impacted by a shift in government guidelines where the public was encouraged to avoid the hospitality sector. This had a such a profound impact on our income stream that in February we had no choice but to close the business.

“Since the business formed in April 2021, we have always sought to deliver high quality events within the ever-changing boundaries of COVID rules and guidelines. We employed a committed and skilled team to support our vision and they worked exceptionally hard to create some very exciting events which regrettably did not materialise or achieve the revenue needed.

“We are deeply saddened by the cancellation of these events and closure of the company, and we do not underestimate the impact on other businesses and individuals. We did our absolute best to deliver something positive for Salisbury, at a time when the hospitality and event sectors were under immense strain. As Directors, we are responsible for the actions of the company and we will be held to account through the insolvency process.

“Be assured that there was no wrongdoing, corruption or scam. Speculation of misappropriation of funds is unfounded and only seeks to discredit and defame. Despite opinions to the contrary, Directors invested considerable energy, time and money into this and other businesses with little tangible return.

“Over the last 48 hours we have been made aware of threatening and defamatory comments on social media, and family members being approached. We do not support such actions and ask that the public allow the insolvency process to be followed. It is not appropriate for people to raise grievance with individuals and companies/organisations who have no involvement in Tiki Events.

“We sincerely apologise to ticket holders and all those involved in the planning and delivery of our events. This is not the outcome we had hoped for. We will cooperate fully with the insolvency practitioner and do all we can to remedy this challenging situation.

“We are actively engaged with the insolvency practitioner, Skiddle and Stripe to find a solution for ticket holders. Further information will be communicated in due course.”