Eats

North Brewing Co. left ‘devastated’ and £25,000 short after ticketing platform is under moratorium weeks before festival

At a time when our industry is under enormous pressure due to the cost increases on Co2, utilities, distribution and raw materials this was terrible news for us to receive today."

Sophie Smith - 8th September 2022

This has had an overwhelming impact on the upcoming Springwell Sessions, but North Brew is determined to still deliver the event as planned.

With only two and a half weeks to go before North Brewing Co.'s flagship beer festival, The Springwell Sessions, the brewery has discovered that the ticket provider for the event, Event Genius of Festicket is under moratorium.

As a result, the ticket platform has had their bank accounts has been frozen, and left the Leeds' brewery over £25,000 short as no funds can be taken out of the accounts towards their future events, nor can ticket holders receive refund.

In just twelve hours, the company has managed to raise of £8,000, but is hoping to raise the full £25,000 before the festival at the end of the month.

In order to provide the much-anticipated festival, organisers have decided to set up a GoFundMe to cover costs, as well as ensuring that the company is still able to donate 10% of ticket sales to St George's Crypt, who were due to receive £2,000 from the ticket sales that can no longer be withdrawn.

North Brewing Co has been feeding Leeds since 2015 with some of the most exciting tipple in the city. / Image: North Brewing Co

The event itself is still set to be one of the most exciting ways to finish off summer in Leeds. From Friday 23 September to Sunday 25 September 2022, Springwell Sessions is bringing together 17 breweries from across the UK across three days of events, with independent wine shop, Bottle Chop, hosting a natural wine bar; No. 3 Gin shaking the cocktails, and street food will be provided by Little Bao Boy, Kerbside Kids, MorMor and Homeboy Pizza.

All set within a huge 21,000 square foot brewery in North Leeds, the site at Springwell produces 2.8 million pints of beer a year and is home to their flagship taproom, so Springwell Sessions will showcase exactly what you're tasting from the keg, as well as bringing together a list of independents and local breweries big and small to the event.

John Gyngell company founder said “At a time when our industry is under enormous pressure due to the cost increases on Co2, utilities, distribution and raw materials this was terrible news for us to receive today.

"Further to this we are disappointed to learn today that Festicket, who own Event Genius, continued to take payments from customers over the last 2 weeks despite filing for moratorium on 24th August.”

“To lose the ticket sales as a result of Event Genius collapsing has lost us in excess of £25,000. Regardless of this we are committed to running this festival. To help with this we have setup a GoFundMe page and we are reaching out to our friends, family and fellow brewers to support us given the lost revenue from the tickets.

"Already the conversations we have had with the brewers attending have been incredibly moving, and incredibly supportive. It is great to see everyone come together to help make this event a success.”

Springwell has been open since April 2021. / Image: Springwell

“We built the brewery and taproom at Springwell during lockdowns, finally opening our doors to the public in April 2021. The Springwell Sessions is our first beer festival at the venue and an amazing opportunity to showcase the brewery, work with our friends in the industry and put on an incredible event for the city of Leeds.”

To donate to North's GoFundMe page click here.

Feature Image- North Brewing Co.