Acquisition safeguards future of food and drink festival

The future of the annual Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival has been secured by food festival organiser, Cocker Hoop Creative.

The Staffordshire-based company behind the Lichfield Food Festival and other community gatherings has stepped in to acquire the assets and IP of the Yorkshire event after its previous owner, Events By B3 Ltd, entered liquidation last month.

Despite the takeover, the festival will not take place this year. It was due to be held in July at Funkirk Farm, near Skipton.

Jonathan Amor and Richard Oddy, licensed Insolvency Practitioners with accounting and advisory firm Azets, managed the Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) and have overseen the acquisition by Cocker Hoop Creative.

Cocker Hoop Creative’s plans to revive the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival include a new rebranded website, social media campaigns, and regular updates.

More information about how people can register to receive the latest information will be released in the coming weeks.

Jon Arrowsmith, managing director of Cocker Hoop Creative, said: “There are many similarities between the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival and the Lichfield Food Festival, and we will bring our experience, commitment to excellence and determination to make this event a success to benefit residents, visitors and local businesses.

“We are thrilled to bring the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival onto the portfolio of Cocker Hoop Creative.

“As a growing business, this was an opportunity we couldn’t refuse. We are keen to preserve the strong heritage of the festival while introducing new and exciting elements to make it even more exciting for visitors, traders and campers.

“With the next event in 2025 we will continue to showcase the best of local and regional food, drink, and culinary talent.

“Visitors can look forward to a vibrant celebration of gastronomy, artisanal products, live entertainment from top UK bands, and interactive experiences against the backdrop of the picturesque Yorkshire Dales.

“We know that good traders are the lifeblood of a food festival, and we are committed to supporting those traders that have unfortunately suffered financially as a result of the liquidation of Events By B3 Ltd.

“For any traders that have already paid to attend this year, we will honour those payments for the next Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival in 2025. We hope this helps them to recover after their losses this year.

“One of our goals is to reduce ticket prices and camping fees so that as many people as possible can attend the event.

“With this in mind, ticket holders affected by the cancellation of the 2024 festival will be offered a discount for the 2025 event. We are looking forward to putting on a weekend in 2025 and beyond that everyone remembers.”

Jonathan Amor, partner and head of restructuring for Azets in Yorkshire, added: “The Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival is the largest event of its kind in the UK and regarded for the contribution it makes to the local economy.

“Our ambition was to achieve a positive outcome for creditors, traders, and visitors to the festival, who can now look forward to the event returning in 2025.

“As the 2024 event has been cancelled, ticket holders can contact their bank and credit card providers to request a chargeback of the ticket price that they have paid.”