Latest news with #JARWave
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Popular inland surfing centre The Wave in Bristol closes suddenly amid financial dispute
Britain's ground-breaking popular inland surfing lake The Wave, near Bristol, has abruptly closed amid an alleged row over its finances Existing customer bookings have been cancelled and The Wave's website is mostly down. No new bookings can be made. The closure came with no warning, with surfers and users of the site booked in today arriving to closed doors and an apology written on a sign. Majority owners Sullivan Street Partners claimed the closure followed problems surrounding the bankruptcy of a director of another funding partner, JAR Wave, according to BBC News. A statement from the majority owners said: 'The Wave Group team apologises unreservedly for any upset caused and is doing its best to ensure the situation can be remedied.' The statement said The Wave Group, owners of the surf park, had 'lined up a refinancing alongside its exciting London developments, which would see all creditors repaid in full within a week and is offering to continue to operate the park.' Sullivan Partners said it invested £27m into The Wave in 2023, BBC News said. Hazel Geary, chief executive of The Wave, said: 'This decision has not been driven by operational failure or lack of customer demand - but for a financial technicality completely unrelated to commercial matters.' Highlighting how suddenly the saga deteriorated, on Wednesday The Wave was posting on social media about an upcoming surf festival being held at the centre next month. The Wave opened in 2019 and cost £26million to build. The unique complex could generate up to 1,000 waves per hour. Since opening, the site provided surfing facilities for all abilities, catering for disabled visitors, total beginners and veteran surfers. The Wave's power supply stems from solar and battery storage and since 2019 the complex has welcomed 400,000 people. Since 5 May, The Wave's founder, Nick Houndsfield, has not been a director of the business. The Wave was the fruit of the ambitions of Nick Hounsfield, a pioneering British entrepreneur who wanted to build a unique business that had a positive social impact, with improving health and wellbeing for surfers and non-surfers alike baked in. Hounsfield did not come from a background in property or business, but was an osteopath, who started with £500 in his bank account and managed to raise £27million to build his dream. THE WAVE STATEMENT IN FULL The Wave said in a statement: 'The Wave Bristol has had to shut suddenly today, and also shut down its website. 'This decision has not been driven by operational failure or lack of customer demand—but for a financial technicality completely unrelated to commercial matters. 'The closure follows the bankruptcy of a director of a funding partner, JAR Wave. 'Despite The Wave Group repeatedly offering support and a full repayment to JAR Wave to solve their own issues, the creditor has instead opted to appear to attempt to take control of the business. 'We as The Wave Group, have lined up a refinancing that also provides funding for the initial development for London, which would see all creditors repaid in full within a week of now and is of course offering to reopen Bristol and continue to operate the park. 'To date these approaches have been ignored by JAR Wave, which has instead chosen to appoint administrators for the Bristol operating company. 'The Wave Group team apologises unreservedly for any upset caused and is doing its best to ensure the situation can be remedied.'
The Sun
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Huge £25m UK attraction with 590ft surfing lake suddenly closes & website down after owners collapse into administration
A HUGELY popular UK attraction with 400,000 visitors has suddenly closed. The Wave near Bristol was popular among water-sport lovers before bookings were unexpectedly cancelled after it collapsed into administration on June 26. 3 3 3 When it opened in 2019, it was Britain's first inland surfing lake. The £25 million project was filled with 26 million litres of water to produce nearly 1,000 waves an hour ranging from nearly 20 inches to more than six foot. Surfers have been left disappointed after the business suddenly closed, and its website shuttered, showing a holding message saying the page couldn't be found. They have since been told that their bookings have been cancelled. The majority owners cited the bankruptcy of a director of JAR Wave, another funding partner, as the reason behind the financial trouble. However, Bristol Live reported that there had been issues in the facility's management dating back to April when its founder Nick Hounsfield resigned. In April, Nick Hounsfield's firm The Wave Group Ltd moved from Bristol to London as it entered administration, appointing Begbies Traynor Group to manage the insolvency. Nick then resigned from the company, and at the end of May the company was renamed to SBL Midco. A report issued on May 22 claimed that the company had struggled to repay loans used to build the site. It claimed the facility was effectively put up for sale in May of this year as they sought new investors to pay off the debt - which totalled around £15 million across various companies. Teen Scot becomes youngest Brit woman to tackle the world's biggest waves A month later they decided to close the company down after a rescue package wasn't finalised. Majority owners Sullivan Street Partners have said that a refinancing plan is underway which could see the site reopened. The company said it invested £27 million into The Wave in 2023. When he first announced the project with Craig Stodder in 2010 to tackle mental health with the joy of surfing, Nick said: "It's amazing to finally be able to show people what we have created and I'm unbelievably proud of our team who have got us to this point. He added: "I feel incredibly privileged and grateful to be part of this, as well as excited about the potential we have to bring greater health and happiness to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities." What does going into administration mean? WHEN a company enters into administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator. The administrator has to leverage the company's assets and business to repay creditors any outstanding debts. Once a company enters administration, a "moratorium" is put in place which means no legal action can be taken against it. Administrators write to your creditors and Companies House to say they've been appointed. They try to stop the company from being liquidated (closing down), and if it can't it pays as much of a company's debts from its remaining assets. The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do to move the business forward. This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invite them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting. A Notice of Intention is used to inform concerning parties that a company intends to enter administration. It is a physical document which is submitted to court, usually by directors aiming to prevent a company from being liquidated. Like with a standard administration process, a Notice of Intention stops creditors from taking out any legal action over a company while they try and rectify the business. The company had planned to expand into London in 2023 at Lee Valley Regional Park - although this never happened. Since 2019, the facility has welcomed 400,000 visitors, from beginners seeking surf lessons, to seasoned experts. The 180m lake was operated using solar array and battery storage to create more energy than was used each year according to The Wave team. In a statement, Sullivan Street Partners said: 'The Wave Group team apologises unreservedly for any upset caused and is doing its best to ensure the situation can be remedied. 'The Wave Group, owners of the surf park in Bristol, has lined up a refinancing alongside its exciting London developments, which would see all creditors repaid in full within a week and is offering to continue to operate the park."
The Irish Sun
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Huge £25m UK attraction with 590ft surfing lake suddenly closes & website down after owners collapse into administration
A HUGELY popular UK attraction with 400,000 visitors has suddenly closed. 3 The Wave, near Bristol, collapsed into administration on Thursday June 26 Credit: Alamy 3 Surfers have had their bookings cancelled and the website is down Credit: PA 3 The site cost £25 million to build, with its founders still indebted to investors Credit: PA When it opened in 2019, it was Britain's first inland surfing lake. The £25 million project was filled with 26 million litres of water to produce nearly 1,000 waves an hour ranging from nearly 20 inches to more than six foot. They have since been told that their bookings have been cancelled. Read more Travel The majority owners cited the bankruptcy of a director of JAR Wave, another funding partner, as the reason behind the However, In April, Nick Hounsfield's firm The Wave Group Ltd moved from Bristol to London as it entered administration, appointing Begbies Traynor Group to manage the insolvency. Nick then resigned from the company, and at the end of May the company was renamed to SBL Midco. Most read in News Travel A report issued on May 22 claimed that the company had It claimed the facility was effectively put up for sale in May of this year as they sought new investors to pay off the debt - which totalled around £15 million across various companies. Teen Scot becomes youngest Brit woman to tackle the world's biggest waves A month later they decided to close the company down after a rescue package wasn't finalised. Majority owners Sullivan Street Partners have said that a refinancing plan is underway which could see the site reopened. The company said it invested £27 million into The Wave in 2023. When he first announced the project with Craig Stodder in 2010 to tackle mental health with the joy of surfing, Nick said: "It's amazing to finally be able to show people what we have created and I'm unbelievably proud of our team who have got us to this point. He added: "I feel incredibly privileged and grateful to be part of this, as well as excited about the potential we have to bring greater health and happiness to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities." What does going into administration mean? WHEN a company enters into administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator. The administrator has to leverage the company's assets and business to repay creditors any outstanding debts. Once a company enters administration, a "moratorium" is put in place which means no legal action can be taken against it. Administrators write to your creditors and Companies House to say they've been appointed. They try to stop the company from being liquidated (closing down), and if it can't it pays as much of a company's debts from its remaining assets. The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do to move the business forward. This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invite them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting. A Notice of Intention is used to inform concerning parties that a company intends to enter administration. It is a physical document which is submitted to court, usually by directors aiming to prevent a company from being liquidated. Like with a standard administration process, a Notice of Intention stops creditors from taking out any legal action over a company while they try and rectify the business. The company had planned to expand into London in 2023 at Lee Valley Regional Park - although this never happened. Since 2019, the facility has welcomed 400,000 visitors, from beginners seeking surf lessons, to seasoned experts. The 180m lake was operated using solar array and battery storage to create more energy than was used each year according to The Wave team. In a statement, Sullivan Street Partners said: 'The Wave Group team apologises unreservedly for any upset caused and is doing its best to ensure the situation can be remedied. 'The Wave Group, owners of the surf park in Bristol, has lined up a refinancing alongside its exciting London developments, which would see all creditors repaid in full within a week and is offering to continue to operate the park."
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
The Wave Bristol: Inland surfing lake closes in financial dispute
A popular inland surfing lake has been closed because of a row over Wave, on the outskirts of Bristol, shut suddenly on Thursday, cancelling bookings with most of its website owners, Sullivan Street Partners, claimed the closure followed problems surrounding the bankruptcy of a director of another funding partner JAR Wave. The BBC has approached the firm for comment.A statement from the majority owners said: "The Wave Group team apologises unreservedly for any upset caused and is doing its best to ensure the situation can be remedied." A statement said: "The Wave Group, owners of the surf park in Bristol, has lined up a refinancing alongside its exciting London developments, which would see all creditors repaid in full within a week and is offering to continue to operate the park."The complex, which opened in 2019, cost £26m to build and can generate up to 1,000 waves an provides a gentle swell for aspiring surfers, as well as fast, hollow waves for veteran wave is powered using solar array and battery storage – which created more energy than the site used each year, according to the The Wave 2019, it has welcomed 400,000 visitors and enabled 400 para surfers to surf as part of regular surf sessions.
