Businesses that had arranged events and booked parties at two Leicester bars have been left having to rearrange their plans.
The Queen Victoria Arts Club and The Exchange in the city’s Cultural Quarter had been due to host a number of events as part of the two-week Leicester Business Festival, which kicks off on Monday.
However the venues, which are both run by the same person, closed without warning on Tuesday.
Management also said the long-established Exchange had been fully booked for Christmas – it is a popular venue for private and corporate parties – while the Queen Victoria had also been lining up a busy festive period.
People who had put down deposits for bookings are now wondering if they will see their money again.
Landlord East Bridgeford Investments – which had a half share in the Queen Victoria – decided to pull the plug after saying they had put an additional £60,000 in to keep it running over the past three months.
The same landlord decided to close The Exchange, which is almost directly opposite in Rutland Street, at the same time.
It is now understood the landlord is trying to help out as many people as possible who have been affected.
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The two bars were set to host half a dozen events during the Leicester Business Festival – ranging from a networking breakfast to a cyber crime session, and social media and design workshops.
Project management specialist Rob McGuinn chairs the Team Leicester delegation to the MIPIM property conference in Cannes each year, which was due to launch its 2020 plans at the Queen Victoria next Thursday.
They now hope to use the Friars Mill office complex in the waterside area of the city instead.
Rob said: “I’ve been to the Queen Victoria a few times for coffee and it’s often been empty.
“But The Exchange always seemed busy, and I’m sure that would have been making money.”
Social Media specialists Anita Baldwin and Anna Geary run the Get Savvy Club, which had been planning a social media workshop with Purple Star Design at the Queen Victoria on Monday.
Some 50 people had booked places.
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Anita said: “We are talking to the Curve and Mattioli Woods and a couple of other venues so are quite hopeful.
“The Queen Victoria is a beautiful venue and we’re really sad not to be giving our talk there, but the business community in Leicester is fantastic and lots of people have offered to help out.
“I just hope they can find someone to take on the two bars.”
Alister de Ternant is managing director of Associate Events which runs Leicester Business Festival.
He said: “Obviously, we’re incredibly disappointed to learn about the sudden closure of the Queen Victoria Arts Club and The Exchange bar.
“This will be huge loss to Leicester’s cultural quarter and the building region as a whole. Our thoughts are with the owners and their staff at this exceptionally difficult time.
“As far as the Leicester Business Festival is concerned, there were six events in total across the two venues.
“The team at Associate Events are currently working with these event organisers to ensure all their events are re-housed and can still go ahead, and most of these have new venues already.”
Cassie Davison, who had run both bars, said she was shocked that they had had to close and was in the process of appointing an insolvency practitioner.
She said: “Just two days ago we thought a deal was being done and so this situation is as big a shock to us as it is to our customers and suppliers.”