Exclusive:Edinburgh's Christmas: Company that cancelled festival contract embroiled in legal dispute with business partner

The dispute centres around costs following the company’s withdrawal from the Christmas contract

The contractor behind last year’s failed Edinburgh Christmas festival is facing a court battle worth more than £800,000 with its former business partner, The Scotsman can reveal.

Angels Event Experience Ltd, which won the £5.5 million contract to run the festival over three years in early 2022, pulled out of the contract in late September. The decision came after offering the council an event with significantly less income to the council – understood to be around £180,000 – and fewer attractions, throwing the entire event into disarray.

The festival contract was handed by the council to Unique Events within days, with the company going on to deliver the market and the fairground alongside their partners, Assembly.

In March, Edinburgh City Council said it expected no income from the Christmas festival last year.

It is understood Angels Event Experience (AEE), which ran the German Christmas market huts, entered into a joint arrangement with fairground ride operators Taylor’s of Edinburgh to deliver the 2022 Christmas festival following the successful tender for the festival contract.

A company was set up, Visionar Limited, with the owner of AEE, David Kohlert, and of Taylor’s, Mitchell Taylor, listed as equal shareholders of the new company when it was incorporated last year.

Mr Kohlert resigned his directorship of Visionar three days after his company, AEE, decided to cancel the Edinburgh Christmas contract with Edinburgh Council.

Council papers state AEE “notified the council that it was not able to deliver the contract as awarded in June 2022 and had been asked to be released from the contract” before an emergency contract was granted to Unique Assembly Limited, a similar joint enterprise to Visionar, in mid-October.

It is understood the legal relationship between Visionar, Angels Event Experience, and the contract to run the Edinburgh Christmas festival is central to the legal dispute.

AEE’s latest accounts, filed on June 26 this year, confirm the business had entered a “joint venture with a partner” and was facing “proceedings against the company for alleged breach of contract”.

The accounts add: “The claimant has made a claim of £801,140, but the directors of Angels Event Experience Limited believe the likelihood of the legal action being successful is unlikely.”

They also stated: “If the citation is successful, the company will not be able to settles its debts and will be wound up.”

Papers from Edinburgh Council's culture and communities committee meeting on March 7 of this year states, however, the company ceased trading in January 2023 and “has been wound up”.

AEE’s website states: “Dear customers, AEE Ltd has ceased operations! Thank you for the wonderful time.”

However, the company remains active on Companies House, with no sign of formal liquidation procedures.

A procedural hearing of the court case between AEE and Visionar is set to take place at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

Angels Event Experience was contacted for comment while Visionar Ltd and Edinburgh City Council declined to comment.