€1m in ocean race debts are written off

The organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race grand finale which arrived in Galway in 2012 have written off debts totalling more than €1 million owed to businesses.
Let’s Do It Global, the company that staged the round-the-world eight-day sailing stopover which finished in the city, has written off debts of €1,055,176.
That’s according to the latest accounts that were filed with the Company Registration Office (CRO), which relate to the financial year to March 31, 2014.
A note accompanying the financial statement said: “During the year the company came to an agreement with its trade creditors to write of the balance due to them as not payable totalling €1,055,176.”
John James Killeen and Eoin Ó Coineen are listed as directors of the company.
The directors’ report notes that the company itself “was not active” in the previous 12 months.
“The principal activity of the group was to facilitate on a non-profit basis the hosting of a stopover festival for the 2011/2012 Volvo round the world yacht race in Galway. The group has also been involved in the running of various other festivals. There has been no significant change in these activities during the year ended March 31, 2014. The directors note the group loss for the year and are considering future options of the company.”
With regard ‘future development’, the directors says the, “company plans to continue its present activities”. According to the financial statements, Lets Do It Global Limited paid some €167,923 in wages and salaries in 2013; but there was no payments for salaries and wages in 2014.
Lets Do It Global, according to the accounts, has 100% share capital in Lets Do It Green Ltd and Event Explorer Ltd.
An independent report found the Volvo Stopover event was worth €60.5 million to the local economy. The state, through Fáilte Ireland paid €4 million to attract the event to Ireland, and invested other monies.
Galway City Council paid some €250,000 to Lets Do It Global, which was to be used in part to provide free entertainment at the docks during the stopover but there were complaints from performers that they weren’t paid.
Lets Do It Global had hoped to secure a Government ‘bailout’, to help pay its creditors, on the basis of the boost the event brought to the local economy.
The taxpayer-funded bailout did not materialise.
The Volvo Race was in Galway in 2009, also. There were plans to attract it to Galway in 2015 but the outstanding debts to creditors scuppered those hopes.