Failed gin festival firm auction raises £60,000

Thousands of gin festival tickets for events around the country had been sold

Hundreds of bottles of alcohol, mixer drinks and equipment from a failed gin festival firm were sold for £60,000 at an auction.

Gin Festival Limited had sold 20,000 tickets to gin lovers across Britain but all events have been cancelled.

Auctioneers Eddisons CJM said it was one of their most successful sales with 1,200 bottles of craft gin being sold.

Paul Cooper of Eddisons said afterwards that "there will be a lot of disappointed gin drinkers".

The auctioneers divided most of the gin into lots of two to six bottles so members of the public could get involved in the bidding, as well as trade buyers.

Keighley-based Gin Festival Limited went into administration in July after attempts to find a buyer for the struggling company failed.

Mr Cooper said it "was one of our most successful sales as 1,200 people registered an interest".

"There were 324 lots for sale, so there will be a lot of disappointed gin drinkers," he added,

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Sheffield Gin Festival, which was scheduled to take place at Kelham Island on 21-22 September was called off, along with 19 other festivals planned for Edinburgh, Wakefield, Liverpool, Leicester, Birmingham, Worcester, Oxford, Norwich, Portsmouth and elsewhere.

Some 20,000 advance tickets had been sold for the events and buyers are advised to contact Paypal or their credit or debit card providers to check if they are covered for their loss.