DJ business out of pocket after Brighton i360 administration cancels New Year's Eve event

• A DJ business has been left out of pocket after Brighton's i360 went into administration, as ITV Meridian's James Dunham reports

A business which was due to host a New Year's Eve event on board Brighton's i360, says it's lost thousands of pounds after the attraction went into administration.

The Silent Disco, where people dance to music through their headphones, had sold out.

More than 150 people were due to attend, what would have been their second New Year's Eve event at the i360.

But the recent closure of the i360 means it's had to be cancelled, leaving them without a booking until February.

Jon Jones, Director, The Silent Disco, said it's unlikely the company will be able to recoup the money until the summer.

He said: "Halloween and New Year's Eve are the two biggest nights of the year for us. The money that we could have made from that was going to keep us going through the beginning of the year until it picks up again.

"It was also going to pay for new kit because a lot of the money that we're getting is going into new kit to make us bigger, so we can go into bigger venues.

"It has stunted our growth and we lost the biggest night of the year for us."

• Jon Jones says The Silent Disco has lost thousands due to the sudden closure of the i360

Jon Jones said the cancellation at such short notice means they're unable to put on another event, due to how long it takes to organise and advertise.

He said: "We were told even up to the Friday that it was business as usual. We knew that something was afoot but we were told that if the doors were going to close, that it was going to be January. We were kind of lining up thinking we were going to be the last event there.

"To get that phone call to say, staff are going and doors are closing at 1pm on that day, when we'd just spent a load more money on advertising to promote the evening and to sell the remainder of the tickets...we just didn't see that one coming."

The seafront attraction, which opened in 2016, has debts of more than £50 million, much of it owed to Brighton and Hove City Council.

The company directors tried to find a buyer but a transaction was unable to be agreed so the company was placed into administration.

All 109 employees have been made redundant.

Steve Absolom, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said they would be working with staff to "make claims to the Redundancy Payments Service."

He said: "Despite engagement with key stakeholders and several interested parties over recent weeks, the directors have been unable to secure a rescue deal and avoid administration.

"Our focus will now be on working with the freehold landowners to establish a short window of opportunity for someone to step forward and resurrect the business on the site in the New Year."

The city council will soon launch an independent investigation into the decision to loan public money to construct the Brighton i360.

One petition is calling on a well-known pub chain to takeover the pod, but with nobody queuing up to step in, the uncertainty surrounding the future of the i360 continues.

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