Press release

Scam company which offered fake hospitality packages to British Grand Prix is shut down

Court closes company running motorsports ticket scam

From:
The Insolvency Service
Published
13 November 2024

  • Informa Expo Ltd targeted businesses with hospitality tickets for this year’s British Grand Prix 

  • The company, trading as Informa Hospitality Group, never had the rights to such packages 

  • Insolvency Service investigations have resulted in Informa Expo being wound-up in court 

A company which offered businesses British Grand Prix hospitality packages has been shut down after customers did not receive the tickets they had paid for. 

Manchester-based Informa Expo Ltd claimed the packages for this year’s race at Silverstone had become available due to a cancellation and were advertised to prospective clients at a heavily discounted price. 

Customers who paid for the tickets were subsequently unable to contact Informa Expo due to its phone and email contacts being taken down. 

Insolvency Service investigations identified losses to customers of approximately £230,000. 

Informa Expo, which traded under the banner of Informa Hospitality Group, was wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on Wednesday 13 November. 

David Usher, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 

Informa Expo never had the rights to hospitality packages for this year’s British Grand Prix. This did not stop it, however, from scamming businesses out of significant sums of money. 

This is the third company claiming to sell hospitality packages for high-profile sporting events we have successfully applied to have wound-up in the last year. 

We will not tolerate companies acting in such an objectionable manner which is clearly not in the public interest and we will continue to take robust action if we uncover evidence of similar wrongdoing from other businesses.

Insolvency Service investigations into Informa Expo began in May this year and found no evidence of any legitimate trading by the company. 

Informa Expo was incorporated in August 2022 under its previous name of Informatic Solutions Ltd. 

Investigators spoke to the sole hospitality provider for the British Grand Prix which confirmed it had served a cease-and-desist letter on Informa Expo for its unauthorised advertising and sale of hospitality. 

Warnings about the company were also published by the FIA, the governing body of motorsport. 

Clients of Informa Expo also made complaints to Action Fraud. 

The Insolvency Service found that Informa Expo had been operating in a similar fashion to Darcella Ltd and Prive Global Sports Ltd, companies it successfully applied to have shut down in April and August this year. 

Indeed, analysis of Informa Expo’s banking records revealed three payments totalling more than £42,000 combined to Prive Global Sports in January this year.  

Informa Expo also charged 20% VAT on each sale, collecting around £46,000 in tax, when it was not registered to do so. 

No evidence was found that any of the VAT collected by Informa Expo was paid to HM Revenue and Customs. 

Investigators visited Informa Expo’s alleged City Tower office address on New York Street in Manchester city centre. 

They were informed that Informa Expo had no presence or right to occupy that office address. 

Attempts to contact current and previous directors of Informa Expo were unsuccessful and the company failed to provide its books and records to the Insolvency Service as it was required to do. 

The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of the company. 

All enquiries concerning the affairs of the Informa Expo should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk. 

Further information 

Updates to this page

Published 13 November 2024