Row as council claims it wrote off £350k owed from wedding venue

The Isla Gladstone Conservatory in Stanley Park
-Credit: (Image: Liverpool Echo)


Liverpool Council claims it agreed to write off a debt of more than £350,000 from a popular city wedding venue. In a cabinet report in July, the council disclosed plans to write off a debt of £357,582.69 for the Isla Gladstone wedding and event space in Stanley Park. That figure is disputed by the company which runs the venue.

In a Revenue and Capital Financial Monitoring Report discussed at a council cabinet meeting on July 16, a number of issues relating to debt being written off were discussed.

The report stated: "The debts included in this report relate to debt that has been pursued as far as possible and a write off of the debt is a last resort once all other avenues have been exhausted. The Financial Regulations require cabinet approval to cease recovery action for all debts which exceed £100,000." The matter was previously reported on by The Liverpool Post.

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The report was seeking approval to write off a debt of £357,582.69 for the Isla Gladstone, which trades as T.I.G.C Ltd. In the report, the council said it had taken 'a number of steps to recover the outstanding debt.'

The report stated these attempts included payment requests to T.I.G.C Ltd, payment request reminders sent to the company and the holding of several meetings with the company and their solicitor regarding the debts. Following this, the council report said court approved mediation was undertaken between the local authority and the business.

The cabinet report states: "It was decided that should the debt progress to court, the likely outcome would be the recovery of 50% of the outstanding debt. Both the Council’s survey and legal teams and T.I.G.C Ltd. legal advisor were aware of this possible outcome. To reduce further loss to the Council and protracted legal action a 50% settlement has been proposed."

But the ECHO understands the business disputes the idea the council wrote off the debts and also maintains the sum in question is less than the figure reported in the council documents. The business' position is that it had been paying rent and utilities to the council from the start of its tenancy in 2009 but that in 2018 the local authority ceased raising invoices. From that point T.I.G.C Ltd and its solicitors repeatedly asked the council for invoices and details of charges, but received none.

In 2023 the venue then received a large number of backdated invoices, including it is claimed, for utilities that had been paid by the council but not invoiced to the business, claiming that many of these were inaccurate. The invoices also covered the period of time during which the venue was closed due to pandemic restrictions.

Mediation took place in May of this year where T.I.G.C and the council went through the invoices to identify those charges that were legitimate. The business disputes the idea that the council wrote off the business's debts as the only invoices that are to be credited were agreed by both parties to be inaccurate.

The company said the settlement agreement is confidential but insists that the sum is less than the 50% figure stated in council documents. The ECHO understands that T.I.G.C Ltd has agreed to pay all legitimate costs, in agreed instalments.

A city council spokesperson said: “We can’t discuss individual cases. However, where money is owed to the council we will take all necessary steps to try and recover it in order to help us fund essential services.”

Gemma McGowan, managing director of The Isla Gladstone, said: “As a long-standing tenant of the city and contributor to its cultural heritage, we have worked closely with the Council and reached an agreement earlier this year regarding our legitimate costs. We look forward to the Council’s continued support as we welcome more people to experience our iconic venue.”