Couples in limbo as Birmingham weddings venue goes bust

Couples have been left with no one to contact as Monsoon Venue Group enters administration

Couples have been left in the lurch after a wedding event company started the process of liquidation.

Monsoon Venue Group, in Birmingham, caters for Asian weddings and had struggled to stay afloat as Covid-19 restrictions limited their business.

However customers say they been refused refunds and now risk losing thousands of pounds.

In a statement on its website, the company said it had "exhausted all avenues" to sustain the business.

It pointed to the "devastating impact of Covid-19 on the wedding industry" and said the decision to appoint insolvency practitioners had not been taken lightly.

Asian weddings tend to have hundreds of guests but Covid-19 restrictions limited them to 15

Couples said on social media they had been left in the dark about their money, however, as insolvency practitioners Begbies Traynor had yet to be formally appointed.

In the meantime, Monsoon Venue Group said it had ended "all means of contact with the business".

A spokesperson for Begbies Traynor said it had been engaged by the company, but could not speak on the company's behalf before its formal appointment had been finalised, which may not be until the middle of January.

• Wedding industry 'left out in the cold'

• Bride 'refused £16k deposit for cancelled wedding'

• Latest news and updates from the West Midlands

Before Covid-19, British Asian weddings were traditionally lavish affairs, with multiple events that would often attract 300 or more guests. However restrictions cut guest lists to no more than 15 over the summer.

On Wednesday, Labour called on the government to provide more support to the wedding industry, saying it had been "left out in the cold".