The COMPANY behind 5,000-capacity Electric Fields, Rocksevents Ltd, has gone into liquidation following the departure of key backers last year and a failed attempt to relocate the festival.
The event moved from Drumlanrig Castle near Dumfries to 2,500-capacity event space SWG3 in Glasgow.
Rocksevents was run by the festival’s co-founders Nick Roberts and his brother Alex, while From The Fields (FTF) – the company behind Kendal Calling (cap. 26,000) and Glasgow promoter Paul Cardow of PCL, were minority shareholders in the event, which had planned to host Frank Turner, Metronomy and The Vaccines this July.
FTF director Andy Smith left the company last December, with Cardow following in February. In April the event announced it was to relocate to SWG3 blaming the rising costs of producing an outdoor camping festival.
Donald McNaught of liquidator Johnston Carmichael, appointed in June, admits, “Overall, ticket sales were much lower than usual at Drumlanrig, so the festival relocated to Glasgow, expecting an uptake that didn’t materialise. The directors concluded that it was not sustainable to continue with the festival this year.”
Johnston Carmichael declined to reveal the level of company debts at this stage and advised ticket buyers seeking refunds to contact the outlet where they bought the ticket.
As LIVE UK went to print, the festival website had still not announced its cancellation and potential festival-goers are only alerted at the point where they attempt to purchase the £95 ticket with a message from Ticketline.
Nick Roberts did not reply to our requests for comment.