Pub in the Park — what went wrong

The Pub in the Park festival was billed as a shot in the arm for the pub industry. But the event was pulled at short notice. John Harrington looks at what went wrong

I believe that in a different climate it would have thrived," is Pub in the Park organiser Sarah Traynor's rueful reflection on the cancellation at the final hour of the three-day Pub in the Park festival last September.

The cancellation led organiser Custom Made Events to seek voluntary liquidation with Wilson Field, whose report last month shows creditors — from major drinks firms to small suppliers — were left out of pocket by a hefty £926,765. Custom Made Events' directors — Traynor, David Wilson and Simon Craig — lost more than £500,000 between them.

Pub in the Park, conceived in 2007, was planned as a showcase for pub culture, with national pool and darts competitions plus comedians, stalls and live bands — pub groups as well as well-known headline acts.

Initial funding of £330,000 was agreed by Custom TV, a firm headed by another Custom Made Events director Simon Craig. Traynor and her team set about trying to secure sponsors but the liquidator's report says after January 2009, "the economic climate was taking its toll and sponsorship revenues that had been promised were scaled down".

One sponsor verbally agreed to £140,000 but reduced this to £60,000, the reports says.

Costs and revenue expectations were reduced and the directors chose not to take a salary.

In March 2009, a business review reduced sponsorship revenue expectations and chopped costs in line — staff were placed on a three-day week until June when gearing-up for the event would begin in earnest. In May, a number of contracts were signed with key partners, reinforcing "that the business was on track to deliver the event".

Bad to worse​

A month before the event, according to Wilson Field, trading continued in line with expectations and Custom Group had agreed in principle to add an extra £120,000 in bridging funding subject to debtors paying cash against their contracts that, ominously, were by now overdue.

According to Wilson Field, three things "conspired against the event" in the final few days to "render it untenable".

Firstly, payments by debtors were delayed, leading to knock-on delays paying suppliers of goods and services. These suppliers then demanded 100% of their payments before opening day — it was previously 30% to 40% — meaning a further £100,000 cash was needed by Traynor and her team. Payment by major sponsors was "promised but not received".

"It went from bad to worse to terrible," says Debbie Brooks, a consultant on the project. "We had trouble getting money in and couldn't pay out."

In addition, despite a marketing campaign, the required uplift in ticket sales didn't occur. Traynor declines to reveal how many were sold but says everyone who bought tickets, priced at £18.75 for adults and £5.50 for children, has been refunded.

Pulling the plug​

The plug was finally pulled on 10 September, the day before the company was due to take tenancy at Greenwich Park and eight days before the planned opening.

Traynor says the final straw came when one company backed down from paying the money promised after apparently hearing rumours that the event had been cancelled.

Traynor says: "This industry is very tight and almost the most damaging thing was people's nervousness. Certain people in the industry were saying they didn't think we'd be able to do it. Some suppliers said, 'don't hand over money'."

She claims part of the damage was done when in June the Morning Advertiser, a media partner for the event, pulled out of its agreement to guarantee adverts — ads still ran after this date, but were to be paid for up front.

Lack of communication​

But Tim Brooke-Webb, the Morning Advertiser's publisher, feared sponsors and trade partners could have been let down and also criticised the "severe lack of communication" from Traynor and her team.

He adds: "The event, dynamics and delivery changed so materially from the original discussions."

This view is supported by Maureen Heffernan, boss of Leisure PR, which was enlisted to help publicise the event. "We thought Pub in the Park was a brilliant concept and a much-needed boost for the industry," she says.

"However, over the period we worked with the management team the concept continually changed, ending with an event that was more music-focused rather than a celebration of what pubs contributed to the community."

Traynor dismisses this criticism. "The focus on pubs was there from the start to the finish. That never changed." She cited the continued commitment to non-music facilities such as sports, children's play areas and cask-ale villages.

Brooks, who is herself owed £2,147 in unpaid man hours and expenses, claims the scale of project was too ambitious — it was licensed for 14,099 visitors each day.

Heffernan agrees: "We resigned from the account some months prior to the cancellation as we had reservations about the ability of the management to stage an event of such scale and to get the necessary sponsors on board."

Traynor replies: "We did the same with the restaurant sector [through the Taste of London event that she launched in 2000] and they embraced it."

Pub concepts​

Brooks also criticises some of the concepts involving pubs. While some such as the pool teams appeared to work, encouraging pubs to nominate local bands to play in Greenwich proved difficult. "The pubs said, 'what's in it for me?' Of all of the competitions I think that was the least thought-through. The entry level was very low."

Traynor concedes that in hindsight, she should have approached pubs through tele-marketing and on-site visits rather than emails. She claims hundreds of pubs did agree to take part in the event overall, however.

Brooks' biggest area of concern was marketing, which involved ads on London Underground, train stations and local radio, plus hand-outs and even visits to offices. The promotions team even took pictures of punters in pubs and encouraged them to view the Pub in the Park website. But for Brooks, it all happened "really late" at the end of August.

Traynor says she had consulted with experts in the events industry. "What they said is we are much better off focusing on a making bigger splash in short period of time."

She claims the activity actually began in mid-July, with an "up-weighting" in action at the end of August. Promotional packs were sent to pubs from June, she adds.

Frustration​

Several creditors expressed frustration about what they say was a lack of communication from Custom Made Events.

"While we feel for the organisers, I think we should have been told earlier there was going to be difficulties," says Ed Mayman, co-owner of Freedom Brewery, which lost £2,594 from the event's collapse.

"We had booked time over the weekend to be there. We had arranged staff. We only found out [it had been cancelled] days before we were supposed to set up when they must have known there were going to be problems. They should have let us know.

"It was radio silence from their end when I tried to find out what was going on. We felt very frustrated about it. We will seriously think twice about any new event we will be invited to attend."

Heffernan says: "We had been continually promised payment, literally until the day they pulled the plug. On the Monday they said they would put part payment into our account and on the Tuesday they announced the cancellation."

Traynor says everybody involved was told of the decision to cancel the event within 24 hours of the decision being made. "We believed right up until the day it was pulled it would be going on site," she says.

Unwelcome bill​

Regardless of who is to blame, the industry has been left with an unwelcome bill and a bad taste in its mouth. Creditors have told the Morning Advertiser that they've been told not to expect to see their money.