Big Green Gathering in financial trouble

The UK's longest running green festival - the Big Green Gathering - is in financial difficulties. In a Myspace bulletin, they explain the current situation and appeal for pledges and donations in the hope of keeping going.

It seems somewhat ironic that an event that has been pushing a sustainable lifestyle message for decades reaches this point when the world has caught up with much of the green message they've championed. While it's clear from their words (see below) that BGG has got to this situation through poor financial management, it would be huge loss to the UK festival scene if the BGG were to end.

eFestivals is pleased to be able to pledge £1,000 towards their appeal, and we urge others to also give or pledge what they can. Alternatively, people can purchase items such as CDs, DVDs and clothing from the new Big Green Gathering online shop, where any profits will go towards helping save the event.

The Myspace bulletin reads as follows:-

Dear friends,

It is with great regret that we have to inform you that the Big Green Gathering Co. Ltd. is presently insolvent. Despite initial optimism, the many and various bills which have arrived at our office since the Gathering mean that we have made a further loss of approximately £75,000 on this year's event. When this is added to the accumulated defecit with which we began the year, it means that we have a total shortfall of approx. £150,000.

In these circumstances we are legally obliged to inform our creditors and shareholders of our situation, and we have to face the fact that unless the money can somehow be raised in the next month or so, we will have to declare the company bankrupt and wind it up at this years Annual General Meeting.

Despite this desparate situation, we have not yet given up hope. We know we have very many dedicated supporters, shareholders and Gathering participants who will not want to see the BGG go under, and will do whatever they can to help. We still have a £50,000 overdraft facility in place, and our guarantor has promised to stand by us, so long as the remaining £100,000 can be raised. Our office manager, Kerry, and book-keeper, May, are continuing to work despite knowing that we may not be able to pay them. The board of directors are doing everything they can to try and keep the company going, and the following appeal is being sent to all our shareholders, staff and customers. Please read it, and do whatever you can. Together we can still save the BGG.

Brig Oubridge, Chair.

Urgent help needed - BGG in danger of financial collapse As we noted in the programme for this year's Big Green Gathering, licence conditions imposed by Mendip District Council and Avon & Somerset Police added around £120,000 to the costs of this year's event. Now that the bills have all come in, it is clear that rather than the profit we might otherwise have expected, these extra costs have left us with a loss of £75,000 this year.

Having already built up a defecit of similar proportions in 2005 and 2006, this means that the Big Green Gathering Co. Ltd. now has debts exceeding its assets by around £150,000, and will have to declare itself bankrupt unless we can urgently raise at least £100,000 to stay in business (we already have a £50,000 overdraft guarantee in place, and our guarantor is prepared to stand by us if we can raise the balance).

These may seem like frighteningly huge sums, but are only a fraction of our annual turnover of around three quarters of a million pounds. The total 3-year loss is still less than £10 each for everyone who attended this year's Gathering. Provided we can prevent future costs continuing to escalate as they have in the past couple of years, the situation should still be recoverable if we can get through the present crisis. On the other hand, if we were to default on our creditors now, and the company went under, it would probably be impossible to re-start the event without a start-up capital of at least a quarter of a million pounds.

There is only limited time in which to act. Bills are already overdue for payment, and our creditors need to have confidence that we can sort ourselves out to prevent any of them petitioning for the company to be wound up. To create that confidence, we need to have raised substantial funds by the end of this month, and to know that we are definitely in a position to carry on well before our Annual General Meeting in November.

Please act now to do whatever you can to help save the Big Green Gathering.

Donations may be sent by cheque to BGG, 10 St Johns Sq., Glastonbury BA6 9LJ, or made on line via the new donations page on our website. [Please note that cheques are preferable, as on-line donations are subject to a 4.5% processing fee and a 30-day delay.] Cheques will not be banked unless and until the directors consider that sufficient has been received to give us a realistic chance of avoiding bankruptcy. Pledges of large amounts, whether as donations or loans, should be sent by email to kerry@big-green-gathering.com, as should any other ideas or suggestions for rescuing the situation.

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