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Boomtown Fair co-founder Lak Mitchell has described the sale of a minority stake in the UK music festival as the \u201chardest thing we have ever done\u201d but admitted that the strains of the pandemic meant that finding new investment was the \u201conly option\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last month, Boomtown confirmed it had sold off a 45% stake, with promoters Live Nation UK & Ireland and Gaiety each acquiring an 18% shareholding, while SJM snapped up 9%.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been the biggest independent festival in the country for years,\u201d Mitchell said, according to Standout Magazine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fiercely independent and proud of that so to have to let go of our baby and allow people to come in was difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hampshire festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and received a \u00a3991,000 Cultural Recovery Fund grant from the UK Government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were in this place where our only option was to find some investment and sell shares in the company,\u201d Mitchell added.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen COVID landed, Boomtown lost \u00a32m and as an independent, we didn\u2019t have funds in reserve; what we had, didn\u2019t touch the sides. We managed to get a CIBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) loan, put staff on furlough, and we received a round of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund. It helped the company stay afloat and helped cash flow.\u201d<\/p>\n Live Nation UK & Ireland chair Denis Desmond and chief operating officer Stuart Douglas joined the board of Boomtown Festival UK and its parent company Circus of Boom on July 6.<\/p>\n More than 70,000 attended the most recent event, which ran from August 10-14.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Image:\u00a0Sam Warrenger | TheFestivals<\/a>\/CC BY 4.0<\/a>\/Edited for size<\/p>\n<\/div>\n