Further update from our CEO on 24th March 2020
I would like to thank all of our customers who have accepted our offer to retain their tickets for a future event and in turn will receive compensation in the form of cash to spend on our bar once we are up and running again. You have helped us prepare our resources to be deployed into the NHS in the fight to prevent the spread of this disease.
At present, and as you can imagine, this is a constantly evolving situation with new government schemes being announced daily and laws being changed overnight. ITAE Group is a non-essential service, and inline with the governments announcement at 2030 on 23rd March 2020 the forced closure has meant our entire workforce has been furloughed in line with the governments instruction. This is a policy that was announced after my last statement, and with all staff furloughed they are forbidden to undertake any work, as a result we are now unable to operate any business functions at all. I am working with industry bodies and waiting for the next piece of government advice on how the leisure, events and entertainment sector should respond in the current climate of contract frustration.
Our social media channels are not manned and are managed externally by a partner organisation, during this time they will not be able to respond to messages, comments or questions regarding the current situation outside of this statement. Regarding social media, a number of users have queried accounts being prevented from posting comments. We are subscribers of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram’s policies on community responsibility, our social media management tool is automated and screens comments for words which may be considered, profanity, offensive or harmful to others. It will also screen for SPAM/trolling behaviour e.g. repetitive commenting. If an account is detected it is flagged and a restriction imposed. We are great advocates of social media and we do want you to have your say, all I ask is that you do so in a polite, fair, accurate and responsible manner.
At present, for all companies this is a challenging time, the situation we are finding ourselves in is not one of our own choice or doing, and we are doing our best within the regulations being imposed on us to steer a way through.
Upon our return to normal practices, we are aware there will be a backlog of people with specific enquires, ticket refunds and transfers. Once permitted, and when safe from infection our workforce will return, we will then work in a timely fashion to action these as quickly as possible. At present I am unable to say when that will be.
I endeavour, to keep the lines communication open as efficiently as I can. In the meantime, I ask you to remain loyal to the brands and shows that we love producing and you as guests value participating in.
I will update this again before Friday 10th April 2020.
Kind regards,
Samuel Piri
CEO
Dear valued customer and guest,
Your health and safety is of paramount importance to us, and following UK Government and World Health Organisation advice we have taken the decision to suspend all events between now and 31st May 2020. This situation is unprecedented and under constant review. Our workforce has been sent home to self-isolate and are engaging in the practices of social distancing.
A message from our CEO
As a consequence, to this ITAE Productions has frozen sales and all operational and commercial activity is now paused. We have seen the collapse of Flybe and now Laura Ashly due to the COVID-19 virus and I suspect many more businesses will flounder. As a business we are in strong position to weather this storm but on behalf of my team I ask you for your support. Ultimately, we are a small team of hard-working staff and talented performers, behind these events are human beings, like you with lives and children, their livelihoods and their homes are now at stake. Our entire team, I included, are working on a voluntary basis to keep our business alive.
What does this mean for you?
We are committed to ensuring you receive a first-class experience with the ITAE Group and we really value your understanding at this time. We have developed a few options for you as a customer, please see below.
During this period, we are donating our infrastructure for use within the NHS to assist with the government’s response to the crisis. Our big top, heaters, generators, tour bus, vans and clinically trained anatomy presenters have been allocated to the NHS for deployment to add capacity in NHS hospitals.
Our offer to you, transfer your ticket to another event…
Help us to be a friend to the NHS during this period while our infrastructure is loaned to the NHS and transfer you ticket to a rescheduled event later this year. If you transfer your ticket, we will also give you £30.00 per ticket to spend on our bar once society returns to normal. (After all, we will all need it!) This can be used for food or drink at any live show or event.
To transfer your tickets, you do not need to do anything, we will contact you once societal norms are resumed with the rescheduled dates and if you cannot attend the rescheduled event then of course we will offer a refund in full.
Alternatively, sadly you can register to request a refund now. Due to the uncertainty and constantly changing information from the government we are setting up a process for this, however we are unable to commit to a timeframe at the moment.
We are all in this together and I wish you and your loved ones the very best of health through these challenging times.
I will provide a further update on 27th March 2020 below
Samuel Piri
Chief Executive
