The Eye Show in London collapses

The question now is whether the 100 claimed exhibitors will have any claim from the organiser, ergexpo, for reimbursent of their deposits and exhibition fees, as well as other costs incurred.
In a statent posted on the show’s website ton 31 January, Ms Dawn Kime, event director, said: “It is with deep regret that I inform you that The Eye Show 2013 has been cancelled. I’m devastated that this will have caused inconvenience and cost to the exhibitors, speakers and visitors who have pre-registered to attend, and the people who have supported The Eye Show. I really have tried everything I can to resolve the matter.”
The statent added, “A receiver has been appointed this morning and the details are: Stephen Grant, Wilkins Kennedy, Tel: 01494 545570.”
Ms Kime, in a statent to Optician, added: “As a result of the huge outstanding payments owed to my expo company, I sought outside investment which I thought I had obtained via a third-party event organiser.
“Sadly, after eight days they withdrew at the eleventh hour, and this meant that yesterday (30 January) at 5pm, Excel cancelled the show.
“I’m so sorry that this will have caused inconvenience and cost to my exhibitors and the people who have supported The Eye Show. I really have tried everything I can to resolve the matter.”
ergexpo as recently as 8 January said It is an independent exhibition organiser based in Hertfordshire in the UK, with The Eye Show 2013 its first event, which is set to be the largest annual exhibition and conference for the optical and ophthalmic industry in the UK, and is being held at London ExCeL International Exhibition and Conference Centre – one of the best venues in Europe.
In a lengthy, glowing press release dated 8 January, the public relations ‘team’ for The Eye Show claimed, inter alia, that The Eye Show concept had come to reality over an intensive eight months of preparation from an early summer 2012 ‘go’ decision, following three months of intensive research by ergexpo, with the research findings ticking all the boxes.
“The mid-week dates came about as result of feedback,” Ms Kime was quoted in the press release as saying.
“Opticians told us they would prefer to devote their mid-week day off to visiting The Eye Show, rather than sacrificing yet another weekend.”
It was, she added, her friend and Hertfordshire-based family optician’s advocacy of a new London show “which led this experienced event organiser to look at eye care in the first place and that Dawn Kime already had considerable overseas experience, working in Russia, and also with the United States and Latin American governments to put on shows across the range from the travel industry to pharmaceuticals. The Eye Show is her first UK based show.”
“The support has been overwhelming,” Ms Kime was quoted in the press release as saying.