Hope & Glory: Skiddle reveals £65,000 loss

UK ticket agency Skiddle has revealed it lost more than £65,000 as a result of last August’s disastrous Hope & Glory festival.

Skiddle refunded all festivalgoers out of its own pocket after day two of the event was called off amid reports of bottlenecking, queues and cancellations, with the company’s technical director, Ben Sebborn, saying at the time that it “became clear that our customers would remain out of pocket unless we intervened”.

All ticket monies remained with event organiser Hope & Glory Festivals Ltd, which went into liquidation the following month.

Almost a year on, Skiddle co-founder and director Richard Dyer says he has had time to reflect on the “unprecedented” decision to refund fans at a loss to the company.

“One year on from Hope & Glory festival, the people of Liverpool are rightly still upset about this disastrous event and the lack of accountability and responsibility that followed from the organisers,” he tells IQ. “After the event, it soon became clear there would be no cooperation from the directors of Hope & Glory gestival and no refunds for tickets issued.

“We are proud of this decision and feel it was entirely the right thing to do”

“Skiddle, as one of the ticketing partners [with Eventbrite], then took the unprecedented step of refunding customers out of our own pockets. In total, we lost over £65,000 – a significant amount for any business. As an organisation that puts our customers first, we are proud of this decision and feel it was entirely the right thing to do.”

Despite the loss incurred, Dyer says he’s confident the festival’s collapse “was an anomaly. As a north west [England]-based event guide and ticketing outlet, we have an excellent relationship with Liverpool’s promoters, venues, artists and customers and we will continue to support the rich, vibrant and unique selection of gigs, club nights and festivals on offer throughout the city in the future.”

Skiddle recently released a new version of its app, which now combines a personalised, tailored event guide with a ticket outlet and event discovery platform. “Typically, ticketing apps exist to sell tickets rather than act as an event discovery experience,” comments Sebborn. “This significantly hampers user participation and limits exposure to a fantastic range of gigs, club nights and festivals.

“We have turned the experience on its head, greeting customers at the start of their journey, exposing them to relevant and exciting events and acting as a one-stop shop: event guide, discovery platform and ticketing outlet.”

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