They show how one of the firms associated with organiser Heritage Live pledged almost the entire company as collateral for a loan from a business lender just days before cancelling the concerts.
Heritage Live scrapped the festival on Monday, citing low ticket sales and a financial rescue package falling through.
The Heritage Live festival at the Sandringham Estate was cancelled on Monday (Image: Heritage Live Festivals)
Despite concerns from fans who purchased tickets, organisers have said they will receive refunds.
The documents filed with Companies House also show income from ticket sales through Ticketmaster was pledged as security for the loan.
It means that if the company were to fail and enter administration or liquidation, that pot of money is likely to be spoken for, which could bring complications for refunds.
WHAT WERE THE PLANS?
The Heritage Live festival at the King’s Sandringham Estate was set to have headline performances from Janet Jackson, Lionel Richie, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin and Eric Clapton over several nights next month.
The annual event was also due to feature a live comedy stand-up stage for the first time, with headlining comedians including Russell Howard, Josh Widdicombe, Rory Bremner, Tom Allen and Russell Kane.
A bird’s-eye view of the festival at Sandringham Estate in 2025 (Image: Heritage Live Festivals)
But on Monday, organiser GCE Live announced that the Norfolk event – as well as festivals at Audley End House in Essex, also in August, and the Englefield Estate in Berkshire later this month – had been cancelled.
WHO ARE THE ORGANISERS?
Heritage Live is organised by GCE Live.
Giles Cooper OBE is the sole director and person with significant control of the companies Heritage Live Limited and Giles Cooper Entertainment Limited.
Giles Cooper OBE is the sole director and person with significant control of the companies Heritage Live Limited and Giles Cooper Entertainment Limited (Image: Archant)
He is also chairman of the Royal Variety Charity and produces the annual Royal Variety Performance.
Mr Cooper was awarded his OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2024 for services to entertainment and charity, and was later made life president of the Royal Variety Charity.
WHAT IS IN THE DOCUMENTS?
Last Thursday – just four days before announcing the festivals were cancelled – Giles Cooper Entertainment Limited created two ‘charges’ – a legal claim over assets, or a fee for borrowing – pledging the company’s “assets, property and undertaking” as security for a loan from lender Upstream Working Capital Ltd.
This included ticket income from Ticketmaster.
Both charges remain outstanding, meaning the debt has not yet been paid off, and the security is still in place.
Last Friday – three days before the announcement – both Heritage Live Limited and Giles Cooper Entertainment Limited also fully satisfied three other separate charges with another lender, which it registered on Companies House last month.
The three charges were ‘general fixed and floating charge over all assets of the company’ with Bizcap Limited – a UK-registered business lender.
On its website, Bizcap offers business loans of up to £1 million to small and medium-sized businesses, with approvals in as little as three hours (Image: Bizcap)
According to its website, Bizcap offers business loans of up to £1 million to small and medium-sized businesses, with approvals in as little as three hours.
Bizcap Limited had been granted security over the assets of both companies, meaning that if the companies were to fail Bizcap would rank as a secured creditor – with claims backed by its fixed and floating charges – and would likely be paid ahead of unsecured trade creditors and customers.
However, both Heritage Live Limited and Giles Cooper Entertainment Limited have now satisfied these registered charges in full – with the latter also satisfying a 2019 charge that had been secured against the company’s property by another lender called Amicus Asset Finance Group Limited.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Giles Cooper Entertainment Limited’s two charges remain outstanding.
It means any debt has not been paid off and the security for the loan from Upstream Working Capital Ltd remains in place.
If the company were to collapse and enter insolvency, this money – including its Ticketmaster income – is likely to be spoken for, which could bring complications for refunds.
However, Heritage Live has said fans will receive refunds.
In a statement on Wednesday, it thanked Ticketmaster, AXS, Skiddle, Gigantic and Ticketline for “acting swiftly to refund customers”.
It said all tickets for its events were sold via third-party ticket agents, who act as ‘merchant of record’ for the transaction and hold customers’ card details, making them contractually responsible for issuing refunds when an event is cancelled.
“The responsibility to refund customers sits with the ticket agent, not the promoter and customers”, it said.
“Any customer experiencing continued difficulty is advised to contact their card provider, who can process a ‘Section 75 claim’ (credit card) or a ‘Charge Back’ (debit card).”
Heritage Live and Mr Cooper were approached for further comment.