The company which runs the Brighton Marathon is set to go into administration amid mounting debts.
Grounded Events has still not paid thousands of pounds it owes to racewinners and suppliers from last year’s event – despite still taking entries for next year’s race.
Last month, two county court judgements were made against it, requiring it to pay two creditors £500 and £2,471.
Last week, it filed a notice of intention (NOI) to appoint administrators at the county court – which gives the company a ten-day moratorium on further action by creditors.
NOIs are often filed in a bid to stop companies going into liquidation.
It was represented by Crowell and Moring, a legal firm specialising in a range of areas including financial services, restructuring and insolvency.
The notice was filed on Tuesday, 1 November – just two days before city councillors approved giving the marathon permission to use council land for next year’s event in principle.
A council spokesman said: “We are committed to hosting a Brighton Marathon next year.
“But we have made it clear to Grounded Events that we will not provide full landlords consent for the use of city space unless they fulfil the criteria we have set out for them.
“This includes the settling of all outstanding debts from previous years.
“We are aware that they now stated their intention to appoint administrators as a protective measure.
“We are meeting them later this week to understand the implications of this in terms of their request to run the Brighton Marathon next year.”
Grounded Events have been approached for comment but have not yet responded.
According to most recent annual accounts filed with Companies House, on 30 April 2021 it owed £1.23 million to creditors.
The year before, just after the 2020 marathon was cancelled, it owed £1.66 million.
In September, in response to runners coming forward to say they had not been paid prize money, the company told Brighton and Hove News: “Since 2010 the Brighton Marathon has become a flagship event in the region’s sporting and cultural calendar.
“Led by a small, dedicated organising team and supported by many passionate volunteers, the event generates millions for charity and supports local businesses by attracting visitors and participants from around the globe.
“Over the past two years the running events industry has been blighted by the hangover from covid. Brighton Marathon was hit hard by the pandemic, and we were forced to postpone our 2020 and 2021 events – resulting in a significant drop in revenue.
“Unlike other sectors, we did not qualify for government support and since restrictions have been lifted participant numbers have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
“As we recover and work towards a 2023 event, we are acutely aware of the payments owed. We understand the frustrations of those impacted and would like to reiterate our sincere apologies.
“Our leadership team is in contact with all impacted individuals to explain the context of this situation and to underline our commitment to honouring our payments at the earliest opportunity.
“The Brighton Marathon team is exploring all possible options to ensure payments are made as quickly as possible and will continue to issue updates as able in the coming weeks.
“We would like to thank the community for their continued patience and support while we work through this challenging time.”
The future of Brighton marathon was plunged into further doubt today after it emerged that the company that runs the race, Grounded Events, had filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator amid spiralling debts and mounting legal cases.
Documents seen by Runner's World show that the company, which is over £1.2m in debt according to accounts filed with Companies House in April, filed the application at the start of November. It comes amid numerous claims that it has failed to fully pay prize money from races dating back more than a year – despite repeated requests from exasperated runners.
A notice of application is usually the first step towards going into administration, and it gives a company a moratorium during which its creditors cannot take legal action or continue with existing legal proceedings against it without the court’s permission.
It comes amid growing concern among runners about its inability to pay prize money or refunds after the company suffered substantial losses during the pandemic.
As Runner's World reported in September, multiple previous winners of the Brighton marathon have taken out County Court Judgements in order to try to have their debts paid. They include Alix Ramsier, who won this year’s race but has yet to receive his £2,000 prize.
Grounded Events have also been taken to the small claims' court after failing to pay refunds after another race it organises, the Ragnar Relay Series, was cancelled. Two county court judgements were made against the company just last month, requiring it to pay two creditors £500 and £2,471.
Yet despite the financial concerns surrounding Grounded Events, the Brighton Marathon page remained open for entries for April 2023 until yesterday.
Its website also states in its FAQs that “the Brighton Marathon and BM10k events hold a UKA license with runbritain for the 2023 events.” However a UKA spokesperson told Runners World that the information was incorrect, and that the race does not hold a licence.
A UKA licence is not mandatory, but it does mean that results would not go on the official RunBritain/Power of 10 site and would not be valid for Good for Age or Championship places at London Marathon or any other equivalent events.
A spokesperson for Brighton and Hove council said that they would be meeting Global Events later this week, but confirmed to Runner's World that the company would not be allowed to host next year’s race unless they settled all debts from previous year’s races.
"We are committed to hosting a Brighton Marathon next year,” they said. “But we have made it clear to Grounded Events that we will not provide full landlords consent for the use of city space unless they fulfil the criteria we have set out for them.
“This includes the settling of all outstanding debts from previous years. We are aware that they now stated their intention to appoint administrators as a protective measure. We are meeting them later this week to understand the implications of this in terms of their request to run the Brighton Marathon next year.”
Ground Events did not respond for a request for comment by the time of publication.