Big Christmas Drive By: Horsham business urges ticket holders to contact bank after ‘upsetting failure’ of event

Strobe Productions Ltd, which was set up by Alex and Sarah Jackson, was planning to run the Big Christmas Drive By in December.

But they said the ‘scale of negative comments’ after the opening day had ‘undermined’ the event.

In a statement, they said: “As with many businesses, we were reliant on positive reviews to assist with further ticket sales.

“We believed that the scale of negativity had undermined the event and that any changes that we could make would not result in attracting sufficient visitors.

“Neither the company, nor us personally, have the funds to run at an increasing loss and it was for this reason that we decided to cancel the event.

“Having never been in a situation such as this before, we have reached out for professional advice.

“It has taken a few days to receive and digest this, but the decision has been taken to appoint an insolvency practitioner who will seek to liquidate the company.

“This process is not instant but is in progress and the appropriate documents will be filed with Companies House in due course.

“The decision to liquidate has been taken based solely on the professional advice we have received, and is not part of a preconceived plan to defraud.”

Strobe Events was set up in 2017 and was incorporated into Strobe Events Ltd in September, Alex and Sarah said. A separate company, Strobe Productions, was set up ahead of the Christmas event.

They added: “As part of our planning of the Big Christmas Drive By we incorporated Strobe Productions Ltd. The sole purpose of the separate company was to distinguish between Strobe Events/Strobe Events Ltd who primarily contribute to small, often private, events and this new venture into organising a large scale public event.

“We have never attempted to hide the history of our businesses, or their current legal statuses, and have previously posted this information.”

The firm will be providing the details of every booking to the insolvency practitioner so that everyone has an equal opportunity to receive a refund, they added.

Alex and Sarah said: “It is apparent that there will not be sufficient funds for a full refund to be provided to everyone.

“This is why a refund process was not initiated by us, since it would have been unfair to refund some in full and then not be able to refund others.

“It is for this reason, and on the advice of the insolvency practitioners, that we previously advised all those seeking a refund to contact their bank (if payment was made by a debit card) or their credit card provider.

“This was not an attempt to avoid providing refunds, or shift costs onto the banks or credit cards, but rather an honest attempt to assist ticket holders recover their money promptly and in full.”

Alex and Sarah added that they planned the event carefully and ‘held the honest belief that we had the ability and the resources to provide a wonderful event’.

They said: “We will be required to assist the insolvency practitioners in accounting for every financial transaction. We intend to do this openly and honestly.

“We wish to advise that we have not drawn any wages personally, or made payments to our other company at inflated prices. There has been no unlawful or immoral gains made by us from this event.

“Once the appointment of the insolvency practitioners is complete, we will not be able to respond to any communication relating to the Big Christmas Drive By or Strobe Productions Ltd.

“We remain, as we have always been, committed to Strobe Events and will respond to all communication received relating to this business.

“However, we ask that you are patient since we have been inundated with emails and phone calls and it will take considerable time to work through these.

“We have not set up a scam, or attempted to defraud anyone. Sadly, The Big Christmas Drive By has been a failure, and a very upsetting failure for everyone, including us. And for this we will always be sorry.”