​Pollen founder reportedly charged £50,000 to company for Ibiza wedding

Liam Negus, co-founder of the recently bankrupt ticketing and event company, Pollen, allegedly charged £50,000 to the company for his 2022 Ibiza wedding.

The company, which collapsed last year and was once worth $800 million, was asked to payout more than £78.6 million – of which £4.5 million would go toward staff and £150,000 to a private jet charter firm – also made 200 staff redundant.

The Daily Mail reports that Liam Negus, one of the brothers behind Pollen, charged £52,776 to the company for a luxury villa in Ibiza where he married the daughter of comedian Jim Davidson just three months before the company went bust.

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The pair married in May 2022, allegedly taking 20 staff to the White Isle for the ceremony for eight weeks in the same month that both Negus brothers laid off 200 other staff members.

When Pollen ceased operation in August, the company owed $83 million to customers and clients including Drumcode, who cancelled their annual show in Malta due to “difficulties” with the company.

Adam Beyer accused Pollen of “serious failings”, citing “Pollen’s arrangements for customer and venue safety” and “suitable staffing and financial management” as the reason for Drumcode’s pull-out, as Pollen sat on the brink of collapse.

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Ahead of the wedding, Liam sold his luxury Kennington apartment for £825,000 according to The Daily Mail. An investigation by Insider also found that both Liam and Callum Negus had spent hundreds of thousands on lavish parties in the run-up to Pollen’s bankruptcy.

The publication found that the brothers spent on huge parties and drugs such as cocaine, acid, MDMA, ketamine, and mushrooms, complete with dancers, DJs, and performers.

To celebrate a $30 million infusion deal, Pollen spent $500,000 on a five-day glamping festival in California, according to Insider.

“I would describe it as a frat, but a job,” a former Pollen employee told the publication. “And at 20 that was great because I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, first job out of college, it’s just a party’.”

Mixmag has contacted Pollen for comment.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter