THE CO-OWNERS of a popular Winchester music festival have spoken out on the circumstances which prompted them to sell a minority stake to a trio of investors.

In a statement, Boomtown Fair's co-owners Lak Mitchell and Christopher Rutherford clarified the breakdown of the deal - which sees Live Nation and Gaiety each taking an 18 per cent stake, with SJM Concerts taking a further nine per cent.

The pair also addressed the financial pressures Covid placed on the festival's finances, which ultimately proved the catalyst for the change in structure.

They said: "For us as a business, our vision has always been very clear, we are a festival like no other – a full living theatre which is set around friends, community, and creative spirit. 

Hampshire Chronicle: Image: Leora Bermeister Image: Leora Bermeister

“Like many other businesses in our industry, due to Covid our landscape has changed, and to stay ahead we have had to adapt and be agile. It’s been a very tough few years."

The UK’s biggest independent festival, Boomtown was awarded £991,000 last year via the government’s Culture Recovery Fund to help it stay afloat during the pandemic. Some of the event's core staff were also placed on furlough. 

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However, Mr Mitchell admitted the payment 'barely touched the sides', having written off £2m when Covid landed.

Organisers said they also struggled with various other aspects of putting together the festival, such as obtaining insurance and equipment to construct the site.

“One of the decisions we came to in the last few months, as a direct result of the rising costs in staging such an epic and complex show, was to seek investment; a minority stake in the business from some of the most experienced names in the industry.

“This decision will not only allow Boomtown to continue its vision to be one of the most exciting festivals in the world, but it will also ensure the flexibility to continue to uphold independence on all decisions around business and creativity.”

Live Nation’s UK and Ireland chairman Denis Desmond and COO Stuart Douglas were appointed as directors of both Boomtown Festival UK and parent company Circus of Boom last month, just weeks before the event returned with Chapter One: The Gathering after a three-year absence.

Some 66,000 people took to the Matterley Estate from August 10 to August 14 for an extended weekend of partying which saw Shy FX, Gentlemans Dub Club, Kool & The Gang and many others take to the stage. 

Addressing fans in a video posted to his Facebook page on Sunday, a week on from the official closing ceremonies, Mr Mitchell said the deal felt like 'letting go of his baby', adding it was the hardest thing he had ever done. 

But he insisted the external influence from the American entertainment giants won't change Boomtown's unique brand. 

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"We had a conversation and said it was so important to us that we retain all the creative control," he added. "We wanted our ethos and culture to remain the same."

"The importance of that is we run it, it's still our business - and that was the deal which ended up coming through."

Mr Rutherford added: "For us it’s business as usual, we still hold the keys, we are still running the show.

"We just have the safety of knowing there is now group support to help us pull through the tail end of these tricky years and provide stability for the future. This means we can continue to thrive, provide employment to one of the best festival crews in the world, and deliver to our audience the magic that is Boomtown. We feel incredibly lucky to still be here after such difficult times."

Boomtown will return next year with Chapter Two: The Twin Trail.