Nightclub shuts owing thousands of pounds (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Nightclub shuts owing thousands of pounds
7:00pm Friday 14th December 2012 in News By Josh Layton
Tiger Bills, in Old Town, which now has tyres blocking the doors
A NIGHTCLUB which promised to bring the VIP experience to Swindon has shut for good, owing tens of thousands of pounds to local companies.
Tiger Bills closed just three months after launching in October, but the management said the venue would re-open in the festive season.
The Old Town club was still shut this week, with huge tyres placed outside the entrances, and the Adver understands it will not be re-opening.
The management had ordered refrigeration and air conditioning units, along with furniture and upholstery, which included bar stools, tables and chairs.
They had arranged to purchase the goods, some of which also involved labour costs, within different time scales after delivery.
Peter Yeardley, of Arctic Services, still has to be paid for a cooling unit which he claims is now missing from the building.
His company was paid 50 per cent of the £3,000 bill upfront and was told the remainder would be paid within 30 days.
Mr Yeardley said: “If we could have gone in and retrieved the cooling system it wouldn’t have been such a problem, but it has been removed from the building and the management seem to have disappeared.
“We are waiting for formal information about the company and then we will contact our solicitors. “We are not as badly off as some of the other companies as we agreed a 50 per cent deposit up front.”
Mr Yeardley said some traders had acted in good faith to do business with another local company.
The club is understood to owe more than £20,000 overall. Dan Field, the general manager of Tiger Bills, did not respond to a request for comment.
Even before opening, the club was involved in a row with a restaurant chain already using the same name. After its launch, it was threatened with legal action by Swindon Council over wooden panels around its smoking terrace, which have since been replaced with glass panels.
The following month, a clubber spent three hours in intensive care after falling eight feet from a railing in the venue.
The victim said Tiger Bills was not to blame and it had just been an accident.
Later in September, seven men were arrested following a disturbance outside the club after it reached capacity and door staff refused to allow anyone else entry.
At the end of the month a drunken reveller headbutted a police officer after being ejected from the club and his girlfriend made a complaint to police that she had been assaulted by a bouncer.
The club said it had dealt with the incident correctly and professionally. Tiger Bills launched on August 31, promising “sharp service and only a premium range of drinks surpassed by a music experience not heard for at least a decade.”
It offered a range of VIP packages, including one combining a private booth, a designated waiter and cocktails, spirits and champagne for £500.
Comments(20)
PaulD
says...
7:44pm Fri 14 Dec 12
roberto5
says...
7:52pm Fri 14 Dec 12
PaulD wrote:By the sounds of it that amount caused problems, or something else did, why shut after just 3 months, after spending thousands on a refurb and other equipment. There must be more to this story?
£20,000 isn't exactly a lot of money for a business to owe
itsamess3
says...
9:14pm Fri 14 Dec 12
roberto5 wrote:There always is--time will tell what happened--familiar story.
PaulD wrote:By the sounds of it that amount caused problems, or something else did, why shut after just 3 months, after spending thousands on a refurb and other equipment. There must be more to this story?
£20,000 isn't exactly a lot of money for a business to owe
tucker81
says...
11:30pm Fri 14 Dec 12
stu2010
says...
6:10am Sat 15 Dec 12
Empty Car Park
says...
7:42am Sat 15 Dec 12
salt and vinegar
says...
9:07am Sat 15 Dec 12
I 2 Could B
says...
9:18am Sat 15 Dec 12
stu2010 wrote:It's a listed building, so there's not much they can do about the exterior, but inside it's actually quite a nice building.
VIP experience? Looks like some back street squat to me or is that VIP for Swindon?
Sadly, what is so very typical of Swindon is that it's a heritage building that has never been used to anything like its full potential.
PJC
says...
2:45pm Sat 15 Dec 12
tucker81 wrote:I agree wholeheartedly!
Good riddance!
roberto5
says...
11:38pm Sat 15 Dec 12
PJC wrote:Bit harsh, what about everyone who worked there losing there jobs just before Christmas?!, don't you want local businesses to trade?! You would prob just rather see it empty again and rot.
tucker81 wrote: Good riddance!I agree wholeheartedly!
LocalBob80
says...
12:49am Sun 16 Dec 12
westswin
says...
11:12pm Sun 16 Dec 12
roberto5 wrote:It closed about 2 months ago, so its not just before Christmas.
PJC wrote:Bit harsh, what about everyone who worked there losing there jobs just before Christmas?!, don't you want local businesses to trade?! You would prob just rather see it empty again and rot.
tucker81 wrote: Good riddance!I agree wholeheartedly!
Anyway, judging by the amount of trouble they had there in the short time they were open then its good to see them gone and the Police can concentrate on other areas.
RichardR1
says...
8:29am Mon 17 Dec 12
tucker81
says...
11:56am Mon 17 Dec 12
Alan B'stard
says...
1:04pm Mon 17 Dec 12
rrrrrrrrrrrrp.
Disco20
says...
1:19pm Mon 17 Dec 12
SlantedView
says...
1:27pm Mon 17 Dec 12
It offered a range of VIP packages, including one combining a private booth, a designated waiter and cocktails, spirits and champagne for £500.
The world just isn't ready for TOWIS!
Moth
says...
6:32pm Mon 17 Dec 12
SlantedView wrote:Probably their biggest mistake. Just who, especially in Swindon which has high unemployment and very few jobs, what few jobs are on offer are low paid, would have £500 spare to pay for a private booth?
“sharp service and only a premium range of drinks surpassed by a music experience not heard for at least a decade.”
It offered a range of VIP packages, including one combining a private booth, a designated waiter and cocktails, spirits and champagne for £500.
The world just isn't ready for TOWIS!
Even better off people would baulk at paying that exorbitant price for one night out.
In the middle of one of the worst recessions for decades the owners come up with a scheme like this. They obviously didn't do their homework.
Still, a fool and his money are easily parted.
roberto5
says...
7:08pm Mon 17 Dec 12
Moth wrote:Ive got more of the feeling the police and council lent on them, the few times I went there It was quite busy. And closing so soon doesn't make sense, maybe there arm was twisted. How ever for people moaning about the club and being glad it is shut so it can stop yobs going, the Spot, opposite tiger bills has one of highest percentages of violent crime which is alcohol related, but this bar is never tackled.
SlantedView wrote:Probably their biggest mistake. Just who, especially in Swindon which has high unemployment and very few jobs, what few jobs are on offer are low paid, would have £500 spare to pay for a private booth?
“sharp service and only a premium range of drinks surpassed by a music experience not heard for at least a decade.”
It offered a range of VIP packages, including one combining a private booth, a designated waiter and cocktails, spirits and champagne for £500.
The world just isn't ready for TOWIS!
Even better off people would baulk at paying that exorbitant price for one night out.
In the middle of one of the worst recessions for decades the owners come up with a scheme like this. They obviously didn't do their homework.
Still, a fool and his money are easily parted.
roberto5 says...
7:19pm Fri 14 Dec 12