Suppliers to CogX — one of the UK’s largest tech conferences — have told Sifted they’re resorting to the courts and turning to debt collectors in an attempt to recoup money they say they are owed.
In April 2024, Sifted reported that suppliers said they were owed “tens of thousands” in unpaid fees, which CogX had said would be repaid after the company concluded an event in Los Angeles in May.
CogX is one of the best-known tech conference brands in the UK and has hosted speakers like Stephen Fry, Steven Bartlett, Robert Downey Jr. and Queen Rania of Jordan since launching in 2017.
In the course of reporting, five suppliers contacted Sifted to say they were owed money by CogX. Sifted approached another one after an anonymous tip off. Many are now intensifying their efforts to recoup debts as CogX gears up for its next London event on October 7.
A CogX spokesperson told Sifted that it acknowledges “a number of suppliers are awaiting payment” and that it apologises for the inconvenience caused.
“CogX is in the process of raising a substantial new funding round to clear creditors and provide capital for long term growth of its CogX events business,” the spokesperson said. “We remain firmly committed to making sure that all outstanding invoices are paid in full.”
CogX didn’t respond to specific points raised by Sifted.
Taking it to the courts
Earlier this month, Charlie Muirhead, founder of CogX, was due to attend the Central London County Court for an “order for questioning”, used by creditors to determine the assets held by their debtor. Sifted understands that Muirhead failed to attend. Another supplier, which Sifted first spoke to in April, said they filed a small claim against CogX in July.
There are currently eight court orders, dating back to 2022, for CogX to pay creditors money — ranging from £2k-£15k — with six issued since the start of this year, according to TrustOnline, a service setup by the Ministry of Justice to provide access to court records.
Those orders are called county court judgments — which are issued by a court when it has formally decided an entity owes another money — and are against CogX entities CogX Festival Ltd, CogX Events Ltd and CogX Ltd. As of September 18, those judgments were all classified as “unsatisfied,” meaning CogX has not provided proof of payment to the court.
In total, Sifted has spoken to five suppliers who are currently awaiting payment.
A sixth supplier told Sifted that they’d been paid £10k that they were owed, but only after initiating court proceedings against CogX and nearly a year late.
Debt collectors
Another supplier, which says they are owed “almost six figures”, is taking a different approach: they’ve hired debt collection company Debt Collect UK.
The supplier, which ran CogX’s registration, check-in and payment systems for the 2023 London event, tells Sifted they’re waiting on 75% of the payment laid out in their contract.
According to the supplier, the money was supposed to be paid in October immediately after the event, but CogX attempted to negotiate down the fees it owed, claiming that it wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the product.
“They came up with all types of excuses [for not paying], complaining about small things like the wording on a button, for example, even though they sold hundreds of thousands of pounds in tickets through our processing systems,” says the supplier.
The supplier adds that CogX told them, after last year’s event, that the employee they needed to complete the payment was travelling and wouldn’t be back for two months. In March 2024, the supplier hired Debt Collect UK. Steven Little, director at Debt Collect UK, tells Sifted the company sent emails to CogX but heard nothing back — and expects they’re unlikely to be repaid.
“No one will get paid as they have no assets and a number of court actions against them that remain unpaid,” adds Little.
Another supplier Sifted spoke with said they are also considering sending debt collectors to recoup more than £10k they say they’re owed from CogX (including a late fee due to the original invoice not being paid) for services provided to the 2023 event, which they say was due in February 2024.
“I have had sleepless nights,” the supplier told Sifted in April. “I have had to restructure my team and my business because, from a cash flow standpoint, I don’t have the relevant amount to pay their salaries.”
Since then, the supplier says they have emailed and sent letters to the publicly registered addresses of CogX entities and Muirhead. After hearing nothing back, in July they filed a case with the small claims court. The case is currently ongoing.
Two other suppliers told Sifted that Muirhead had warned them that issuing winding up petitions — which are like bankruptcy petitions, but brought against a company rather than an individual — against CogX wouldn’t result in the repayment of debt owed, because the company had no assets.
They both said Muirhead suggested that they could receive sponsorship space at CogX events or shares in CogX in place of payment.
Muirhead’s new venture
As suppliers’ wait for payment, Muirhead has started an entirely new venture.
He registered a new company called Proxxi.ai at the end of January this year. Muirhead told the Evening Standard that the project is in stealth mode, but the aim is to create a platform to use AI to “access some of the best minds” in technology.
“It’s frustrating to see Charlie start a new business when his current business has not paid suppliers,” one supplier, who is seeking legal action, told Sifted.
Sifted asked Muirhead for more information about Proxxi.ai and whether it had fundraised, but didn’t receive a response.
Disclaimer: Sifted also hosts a tech conference in London in October.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/cogx-suppliers-resort-to-courts/
