Fake corporate hospitality firm shut down after bookings cancelled with no refund

A company which claimed to sell heavily discounted corporate hospitality packages for in-demand sporting and music events has been shut down after it cancelled bookings and left customers out of pocket.

Darcella Ltd offered tickets to sold-out events including the Six Nations, BRIT Awards, and Cheltenham Gold Cup at a fraction of the full price, telling clients tickets had become available due to cancellations.

Once customers paid for heavily discounted hospitality packages, worth on average £6,000 each, Darcella would cancel the tickets last minute and offer no compensation.

Operating under the name Corinthian Group – notably similar to an unrelated hospitality company – Darcella turned over more than half a million pounds between autumn 2022 and spring 2023.

Investigators believe the name was chosen because of its similarity to the pre-existing group.

Darcella was wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on 23 April.

David Usher, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Darcella convinced businesses to pay for top corporate hospitality at some of the biggest music and sporting events on the calendar when they had no rights to sell the packages or any tickets to sell.

"Worse still, clients were left significantly out of pocket through no fault of their own when they failed to make refunds after cancelling their bookings at short notice.

"Our investigations found no evidence of any legitimate trading by Darcella which is why we applied to have it wound-up in the public interest."

Some customers paid for event packages discounted by up to 50% of the original ticket price.

When buyers complained they hadn't received their tickets, Darcella would continually reassure them their tickets would arrive imminently.

Then in the lead up to the event, Darcella would cancel the booking and promise customers a refund and free tickets to another event, neither of which ever materialised.

Darcella's £500,000 turnover made it eligible for VAT payments, yet the Insolvency Service found no evidence Darcella paid any VAT to HM Revenue and Customs.

The Service also concluded there had never been any relationship between Darcella and the venues themselves, many of which had exclusive contracts with other hospitality providers.

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