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The company behind a wedding venue has gone into administration as a result of “ongoing financial difficulties” and cannot host events, say accountants.
It comes as several couples have been left devastated following the sudden cancellation of their ceremonies at St Augustine’s in Westgate-on-Sea.
St Augustine’s College Ltd entered administration on Friday.
Accountancy firm Kreston Reeves was appointed as administrator and in a statement today said: “This decision comes as a result of ongoing financial difficulties exacerbated by challenging market conditions.
“The cumulative impact of rising operational costs and reduced consumer spending placed a significant strain on the business.
“Unfortunately, the company’s financial difficulties mean that the company is unable to host events for its clients whilst in administration.
“The administrators are aware that this will cause great distress.
“All those affected have been contacted by the administrators.”
Kreston Reeves says the business centre which operates from the St Augustine’s site continues to trade as normal.
“The appointed administrators will take steps to maximise the value of the business and assets in order to provide the best outcome for creditors of the company,” the firm added.
Couples have spoken of their heartbreak at losing the historic venue - in some cases just weeks before their big days.
Sarah Deadman, who had planned to marry her partner of almost six years, Peter Smith, at St Augustine’s on March 15, said last week: “We have been planning it for years and we have been saving for three years so we could afford it. It has cost us £6,500 for the venue.”
The mum-of-three says she started to worry last Thursday when she saw posts about events being cancelled.
“We went there on Friday and didn’t get any answers either,” she said.
“There are less than seven weeks until the wedding.”
Charlotte Rickwood, from Rough Common, Canterbury, was due to marry her fiancé Jordan Collins at St Augustine's in Westgate-on-Sea on April 19.
The 31-year-old described it as her dream venue and was left in “floods of tears” after days of mounting speculation and uncertainty became a shattering reality.
Charlotte and Jordan did not get wedding insurance and now fear they could be left thousands of pounds out of pocket.
“It was a massive shock to both of us,” Charlotte said. “We had heard the rumours but when we called the venue we kept getting vague responses from them.
“They just kept telling us that they didn’t know what was going on.”
Despite the couple’s repeated calls, they received no direct confirmation from St Augustine’s about the collapse. Instead, they found out through a link sent by friends.
Several companies have presented their services to couples who may be impacted by Friday’s news.
KentOnline has made efforts to contact St Augustine’s bosses but there have been no responses to our phone calls or emails.