CRAFT gin worth more than £50,000 is to go under the hammer next week after the collapse of Keighley-based Gin Festival Limited. 

The company went into administration last month after attempts to find a buyer failed, resulting in the cancellation of festival events across the country and leaving the buyers of 20,000 advance tickets out of pocket. 

Administrators Begbies Traynor have instructed auctioneers Eddisons CJM to dispose of the firm’s remaining assets

Eddisons CJM director Paul Cooper said: "The auction will see over 1,200 bottles of craft gin going under the hammer, some of which sold for more than £40 a bottle. We calculate the total retail value to be in excess of £50,000 and I imagine considerably more than that at festival prices.

“We have divided most of the gins into practical lots of two to six bottles so that members of the public can get involved in the bidding as well as trade buyers.

"Everything in the auction is being sold without reserve, so it will make what it makes.”

Mr Cooper added: “We’re also auctioning huge quantities of mixers. We reckon we have something over seven thousand bottles of those and they are obviously being sold in larger quantities.”

“We have also been instructed to dispose of all the festival furnishings and equipment that the company used to stage events around the country.

"That ranges across everything from optics boards, travelling bars and bar equipment, through sound system kit and event fencing, to pallet trucks and the large flight cases that were used for transportation. We’ve even got their ‘selfie stand’ and camera.”

People who bought tickets are advised to contact Paypal or their credit or debit card providers to check if they are covered for their loss.

The full catalogue is available at www.eddisonscjm.com. 

The online sale using the BidSpotter platform www.bidspotter.co.uk closes at 6pm on Monday.