The actions of a rogue South African promoter have bankrupted a ticketing agency and forced his competitors to take out adverts to reassure ticket buyers about their own shows.

Duncan Heafield, head of Kusasa Commodities Entertainment, was arrested earlier this month on multiple fraud charges, and according to a series of stories in Pollstar, Heafield is being pursued by numerous creditors including investors and suppliers, and some of the 40,000 fans who purchased tickets for a cancelled Josh Groban tour.

The cancelled tour has caused ticketing agency Ticket Connection to go bust, after it advanced box office takings to Heafield and was subsequently hit by thousands of fans claiming refunds using credit card charge backs.

 But even for Heafield’s competitors, the debacle is claiming a high price as Big Concerts is adding an additional £10,000 (€12,400) in marketing spend for forthcoming dates with Counting Crows and James Blunt, just to reassure the public that their ticket money is safe.

“We’re hoping that the more we continue to drive the fact that they’re Big Concerts’ shows, people will make that distinction,” says operations director John Langford. “Our genuine concern is for the fans that purchased tickets to the…tour and are now unlikely to get their money refunded.”

Big Concerts is currently the focus of speculation regarding an imminent deal with Live Nation. No official announcement had been made as IQ went to press, but Langford says: “The discussions between and Live Nation on possible synergies are at an advanced stage.”