A MUSIC venue that went into liquidation has left a string of debts totalling more than £250,000 – forcing one Basingstoke business to make staff redundant. 

Management at construction firm Comfort Building Services have made four of its engineers and a receptionist redundant after STAGE, a music venue in Churchill Way, did not pay a bill of £95,904.09 for construction work on the premises.

Comfort, which operates from offices in Stroudley Road, showed The Gazette a list of 42 other creditors who were due £256,000 in payments including a flooring firm, a brewer and a local hotel.

Problems at the venue have been well documented in recent weeks after STAGE Live Limited, the original holding company of STAGE, went into liquidation and was forced to cancel all shows taking place at the venue.

STAGE Live Limited had hoped new investment would come on board and last month Adam Hornblow, a former director of STAGE Live Limited and a director of STAGE Basingstoke, which he hoped would take over the venue, confirmed that shows were being rebooked at the venue.

But last Wednesday, after less than six months since opening, the venue closed.

Dave Boshier, co-owner of Comfort, said: “We were contacted by Adam Hornblow who was at the time a director of STAGE Live Limited, in mid-February.

“The project value was £95,904.09 including VAT and without my team’s endless hard work, working late into the nights, the venue would never have opened. We were still putting the finishing touches to the Green Room as the bands arrived on the opening night.

“We have never received any payment whatsoever for our works, only stalling tactics and empty promises.

“With this lack of payment we were forced to make good Basingstoke engineers redundant.”

Work carried out by the building company included repairing and replacing faulty equipment such as air-conditioning, plumbing and lighting as well as designing and building a new Green Room facility, complete with dressing rooms and a shower facility, before carpeting the entire venue.

Comfort confirmed that no contract or deposit was paid for its services before work was carried out. 

The company took STAGE Live Limited to court and sent enforcement officers to visit the premises.

However Comfort was told that because STAGE had gone into liquidation, it no longer had access to money owed to it.

Mr Boshier added: “Adam Hornblow and STAGE Live Limited have left behind a trail of debts in excess of £256,000 due to staff and local companies.

“He could not even be bothered to put in an appearance at the creditors’ meeting, even though he could have attended remotely via a conference call.”

Since STAGE announced its closure, dozens of frustrated customers have contacted The Gazette to express their concern over ticket refunds, along with former employees who claim not to have had their wages paid in full. 

Chadina Chanel Saville-King, from Dummer, spent more than £400 on 11 VIP tickets to see UK band Soul II Soul this month.

“It’s horrendous,” the 43-year-old said. “I bought them individually so I can’t claim them back on my credit card either. I just want our money back.”

It has been confirmed by venue bosses that tickets may be refundable if the total transaction cost was £100 and was paid for by credit card.

If tickets were purchased from ticket retailers such as Skiddle and Ticketmaster, refunds may be given out.

Customers should contact their credit card company and ticket provider respectively. 

Mr Hornblow told The Gazette: “STAGE is aware that one local building firm, owed a significant sum, has made redundancies.
“The company worked with that firm in an open and honest fashion to try to resolve the situation, neither could find a solution and when incoming investors refused to take on old debts of Stage Live Ltd the option of working to resolve it further was removed. 

“Stage deeply regrets the outcome of this and others who were affected but always had faith in its ability to pay its creditors when entering into agreements.”

However, he hopes to rebook cancelled shows to hold at other venues in the town, adding: “We are conducting very positive negotiations with a number of local venues in order to carry out the concerts that we had booked for Stage. 

“We’re looking to make announcements on the Stage Facebook page and website in the next few days.”