Aeon Events PR Ltd owners of Wild Fruit who have serviced the ‘Bars Contract’ for Brighton Pride for the last four years and hosted the dance tent at all Prides since 1995 have had their ‘Bars Contract’ with Pride in Brighton and Hove terminated after lawyers acting for Wild Fruit asked Pride for evidence they had the finance to stage this years event.

In a letter to the Pride board dated May 11, lawyers for Wild Fruit requested to see evidence of what sponsors had been confirmed to finance this year's Pride and sight of Pride's insurance policy against cancellation of the 2010 event.

In an undated letter to Wild Fruits lawyers, Robert Clothier the acting chair of Pride in Brighton and Hove said:

"It is with regret that I must inform you that the board of trustees for Pride in Brighton & Hove consider Aeon Events PR Limited to be in breach of their contract terms, and must therefore terminate the contractual agreements previously in place."

"The key breach of contract relates to payment terms for the contract fee.  The first instalment of the fee (due 1st March 2010) was not received and following a mutually agreed extension to the deadline for payment (to 1st April 2010), still no payment has been received."

"As a registered charity the board of trustees have a legal responsibility to ensure the financial security of Pride’s activities; this includes ensuring that income generating contracts are maintained, in order that resources may be available to expend on activity relating to Pride’s charitable objectives, namely ‘the Event’.  The board has been kept informed of developments at each step, and all actions have been sanctioned by trustees."

"I am saddened at having to take these steps, but trust you understand that we must put the charity’s stability uppermost in all actions we take."

Despite extensive efforts by Wild Fruit to help Pride out of their present difficulties, relationships between Pride and Wild Fruit have deteriorated in the last few months.

This followed a stormy public meeting about the future of Pride at The Queens Hotel in November 2009 where many people expressed concerns that Pride were using Aeon Events PR Ltd, owners of Wild Fruit as  'scapegoats' to explain Prides perilous financial position and ‘projected’ £50,000 deficit.

Despite statements to the contrary issued by Pride that Pride 2010 was progressing well, Aeon Events Ltd, owners of the Wild Fruit brand who were contracted to handover a total of £71,000 to Pride and were in effect Prides largest investor, became concerned that little information had been forthcoming in the last three months by Pride and were advised by their lawyers to seek evidence that Pride were able to finance this year's event.

Paul Kemp of Wild Fruit said:
“Wild Fruit have been the main local business supporter of Pride for the last fifteen years as well as Pride’s biggest fundraiser.

“We have helped build the event into the UK’s best Pride event.

“Following last year's event we have expressed genuine concerns over health and safety issues, underage drinking and the massive increase in illegal sellers (hawkers) and lack of control on the park.

“We have put forward many positive suggestions to address these issues as well as ideas on how Pride may raise extra funds, but don’t feel that Pride have addressed any of them.

“After witnessing the cancellation of the Beachdown Festival last year we felt it only fair and transparent that Pride could demonstrate to us that there were sufficient funds to implement some positive health and safety controls, stage this year's event with all the main attractions from last year and provide insurance cover for our license fee.

“We have made it clear to Pride on numerous occasions that we were not prepared to commit any funds until we had some reassurances on our concerns.

“We are saddened to think that this really is the end of a great chapter in Prides history when local LGBT businesses were key to the event.”


Controversy has dogged Pride 2010 after organisers announced a potential deficit of £50,000 in October 2009.

A fundraising appeal launched in October last year raised a disappointing amount.

In November 2009 after a stormy public meeting at the Queens Hotel, Brighton, Yvonne Barker, the chair of Pride resigned and was replaced by acting chair Robert Clothier.

In December 2009 a new production contract for the event was awarded to Fisher Promotions Ltd, despite wide spread concerns being expressed by LGBT businesses, voluntary sector organisations and concerned community members about the suitability of Fishers Promotions Ltd to deliver the production on an outdoor festival on the scale of Brighton Pride.

It was disclosed exclusively in January this year in Gscene magazine that Fishers Promotions Ltd, had a poor credit record, were listed as high risk by a leading credit agency and had never organised an outdoor festival on the scale of Brighton Pride before.

Earlier this year Brighton Council made Pride a loan of £20,000 to be paid back over the next five years, which was used to pay wages among other items.

A spokesperson for Brighton Council confirmed they received copies of Pride's accounts each year and said:

"Ahead of confirming the loan, we viewed Pride's accounts, their cash flow projections and are happy with the process they undertook to appoint their contractors."

Brighton Pride removed Revenge nightclub from the 'Bar Contacts' in 2009 despite the owners offering to lodge a £100,000 bond.

A facebook group called Save Pride in Brighton and Hove as we know it has been created with over 7,500 people joining it.

The facebook group is still live and remains the focus for criticism of the present Pride Board.