THE promoter at the centre of the cancelled Olly Murs gig ran a previous events company that also went bust, it has emerged.

Thousands of fans were left disappointed after the pop idol's Kings Park concert, which was scheduled for August 5, was called off this week.

This eleventh hour cancellation was announced after the company behind the gig, Stephen C Associates, ceased trading.

This events firm - established six years ago by Stephen McManus - has also organised the last two Upton House Music Festivals, which attracted big names such as Michael Bolton and Billy Ocean.

Stephen C Associates' downfall has also led to the cancellation of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's Last Night of the Proms concert in Exeter on July 30 - which is likely to cost the BSO ten of thousands of pounds.

Yesterday, when the Echo visited the Poole address listed for Mr McManus a woman answered the door and told reporters he no longer lived there.

Meanwhile, staff at Dorset Scrapstore, Alder Hills, Poole, confirmed Mr McManus used office facilities in the shared space building, and that he had not been seen since Wednesday.

Mr McManus' emailed response to our request for comment yesterday read: "I issued a statement through our PR company yesterday and do not have any further comment.

"I do not believe any further comments would be reported fairly by the Echo."

Additional questions requesting Mr McManus clarify when he realised the concert could not go ahead - and whether or not he made this information public straight away - went unanswered.

Likewise, Mr McManus did not respond to our emails asking if he was working to reimburse Olly Murs fans in any way.

A statement released on the Olly Murs event website, issued earlier this week, announced Stephen C Associates had ceased to trade and was expected to go into liquidation.

Liquidator Herron Fisher is now winding up the company and handling its affairs.

Records show a previous company of Mr McManus - Balmlane Events - was also liquidated in 2009.

Around the same time Balmlane Events was wound up, Mr McManus established a company called SCM Events.

Commenting on Mr McManus' Upton House Music Festival in June, the Borough of Poole said: “We can confirm that Mr McManus has been issued a final invoice in relation to this year’s Upton House Music Festival, for which payment has not yet been received.

“We are always keen to explore ideas for events at Upton Country Park and will be considering this in the coming months.”

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has been left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket following the collapse of Stephen C Associates.

The orchestra, which is a registered charity, was due to play a Last Night of the Proms concert at Powderham Castle in Exeter on July 30, but it has been cancelled.

Marketing manager Anthony Brown told BBC South Today: “We were supplying the stage, and then we were also supplying 71 players, the conductor, the soprano, a tenor, and a number of other infrastructure personnel needed for the event. So we are obligated to our clientele to honour the payments to them so we are out of pocket by, certainly, several tens of thousands of pounds unfortunately.”

In a statement, the orchestra said it was “very disappointed”, adding: “"The circumstances in which the concert has been cancelled are out of the BSO's control, the concert was being managed by an external promoter, and any tickets for this concert purchased directly from the BSO will be fully refunded."

The BSO will still play its Proms in the Park concert at Meyrick Park in August.