Island Con will not return to the Isle of Wight next year as the company behind the annual event, Alliance Conventions, has been forced into insolvency.
Large financial losses suffered by the running of both 2018 and 2017’s events have led to the dire situation.
In a statement issued through the Island Con website this week, the organisers of the event have said:
“Unfortunately due to numerous and prevalent issues and circumstances we are disappointed to inform that Alliance Conventions has been forced in to insolvency and has ceased trading effective immediately. There was a series of events that have led to this decision. This has been a decision based purely on the large financial loss of this and the previous event and cases opened against us. All circumstances will be issued, described and people named in a media statement once the company has been struck from the register.
“There has been a campaign of negativity and slander on certain social media outlets and specific Facebook-only groups that has pulled the rug out from under the event. This has led to a large subversion of company finances by way of forced refunds, subversion tactics, hate campaigns and the spread of malicious untruths. Names and company names have been noted and comments copied for publication in our media statement that has been previously mentioned. The simple fact remains that without any kind of financial return in the past two years and the financial black hole that this recent event has left us with, there can be no way forward.
“We came to the island because we had a vision to create something new and fantastical, a big new event for the island. Our only aim was to bring people and certain communities together and we had mostly achieved that. We made some teething mistakes along the way and have been publicly punished for these errors, mostly by those we provided the platform for, which is heartbreaking. As the support dropped, the rumours grew and although we made mistakes along the way, we had lost control of the rumour mill and at the finality we could not say anything that would have changed it. We could not fight rumours and hate with truth. For that and for the situation we find the company in, we are sorry.
“Every company associated with Alliance Conventions have been affected and will also seek insolvency and to be struck off from the company register. Every person associated with the company is no longer employed or contracted out. Remaining owed creditors will have payment plans set up with them and will be contacted by a company representative. Any outstanding claims can be tendered to Alliance Conventions through the official insolvency channels once that process is taking place and publication made to the Gazette”.
The statement concludes by saying:
“To those who supported the event through thick and thin, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To the thousands who will miss this event and the employees that we now lose, we are sorry, we gave everything but our lives to the event and to the company”.
