Closing time for Guild partnership with Gatecrasher

Socials will no longer be held at the club after debt dispute between Guild and GC


The Guild of Students has asked student groups not to work with Gatecrasher (GC).

The decision that will prevent society socials being hosted by the Broad Street club comes after an on-going legal dispute regarding debt owed to the Guild by GC.

The club was also absent from this year’s Freshers Pack

It is estimated that a sum of around £28,000 is still owed by GC to both the Guild and student groups. However in a statement, GC claimed that “the two organisations are in disagreement over the amount due”.

Simon Raine from GC would like to remind everyone that “the Birmingham Guild of Students has earned nearly £400,000 from their relationship with Gatecrasher”. In the statement he went on to say “If that doesn’t show our financial commitment to the Guild and the University I don’t know what will”. At press time this was presumably accompanied by some sort of innocent and weary shrug from Simon.

Raine explained, “our accountants and the Guild’s accountants had a minor difference as to numbers, which we hope can be resolved.” Apparently feeling like the point had not been pressed enough, he went on to remind us again that this “doesn’t detract from the fact that nearly £400k has been paid by us to the Guild”.

In response to the break up, the Guild has said “it is not prepared to consider a future relationship until the outstanding debt is paid in full. The Guild would also like to clarify that Gatecrasher have never financially supported the University. The Guild of Students has been in a commercial relationship which has been mutually beneficial for both parties’.

This marks the latest blow to a club whose parent company had recently entered pre-pack administration following the inability to pay debts of around £3.5million.