THE extent of the debts racked up by failed events promoter Stephen McManus is laid bare in an insolvency report obtained by the Echo.

Mr McManus' firm went out of business last summer in the wake of a cancelled Olly Murs concert which left thousands of fans disappointed and some out of pocket.

But his business Stephen C Associates has left behind a devastating trail of debt, with creditors owed a staggering £877,962, according to a report by liquidator Herron Fisher.

Among those owed money are a string of local businesses and suppliers, both Bournemouth and Poole councils and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which is a charity. Some of the debts relate to the Upton House Music Festivals, which Mr McManus organised in 2016 and 2017.

Thousands of people were due to attend the Murs event in Kings Park on August 5 last year.

But on July 20, Mr McManus, who lives in San Remo Towers, Boscombe, announced his operation had gone bust and the show was not going ahead.

Not just fans were left high and dry.

Bournemouth Hospital Charity said it was "shocked and saddened" because a number of concert-goers had purchased tickets using a promotional code which would have given a donation to the charity.

The taxpayer, through Bournemouth Council (£18,000) and Borough of Poole (£11,000) is always owed money. The BoP debt is outstanding from the Upton concerts.

The BSO was left £30,000 out of pocket when another Stephen C Associates event, Last Night of the Proms at Powderham Castle, Exeter, was axed at the same time as the Olly Murs concert. The orchestra had already contracted 71 musicians and other staff and had to honour the contracts.

The orchestra had received its fee for last June's Upton appearance, as well as part-payment for the cancelled Exeter concert.

It had contacted Mr McManus last summer to warn that he had defaulted on his payment schedule and the orchestra would not appear at Powderham Castle if the money was not paid.

When Mr McManus eventually surfaced several days after the Olly Murs debacle, he blamed the failure of a "large financial investment to materialise" for the collapse of his business.

However he has a chequered history.

A previous company of his, Balmlane Events, was also liquidated in 2009. Around the same time, Mr McManus set up another firm called SCM Events.

The report also reveals:

* The biggest single creditor in the collapse of Stephen C Associates is the payments processing company Worldpay, based in Manchester, which is owed £535,820.

* The Birmingham-based ticket seller Ticket Factory, is owed £72,761, while a Bournemouth-based ticket agency, Elite Tickets, is owed £10,847.

* The Cardiff-based Harlequin Agency, which represents Sir Bryn Terfel – one of the star attractions at the Upton Music Festivals – is owed £45,000.

* Concert Production Services is owed £28,000, the security company ER Global £13,425, Premier Food Courts £13,200 and Powderham Castle £11,000.

* Locally, the generator supplier CES (Poole) Ltd is owed £10,000, Poole-based Seventa Events £8,000, Bournemouth-based Wesex Safety Services £8,000 and Route PR of Wimborne £3,600.

* The company is listed as owing Mr McManus £10,000 and employees £5,000.

The business has no assets to realise and a total deficit of £877,962, the liquidator's statement of affairs reveals.

Accounts filed for the year ending January 2016 showed Stephen C Associates making a loss of £212.

Mr McManus declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Echo yesterday.

When last year's concerts were cancelled, he said in an email: "We were expecting receipt of a large financial investment which was expected to arrive during the week commencing July 1, and the investment had all financial commitments including all the operational costs covered.

"We took the tickets off sale once we realised there was no prospect of the investment arriving."

He added: "We have worked tirelessly right up until the end to try and secure funds to ensure these shows could take place."