Wedding couples, local businesses and even Kingston police officers who lost thousands of pounds when Raven’s Ait went into administration have learnt that they are unlikely to recoup their losses.

Disgruntled businesses who lost Christmas party payments at the island venue have now joined together to form a committee, which will oversee an investigation by administrators Wilkins Kennedy into the venue’s finances.

They came face to face with Managing Director Keith Hartogh at a “lively” creditors’ meeting on Wednesday, January 7.

They were told they would receive no money unless the investigation finds Mr Hartogh was wrongfully trading after going insolvent and is then taken to the county court.

The committee is made up of bosses at printers Kall Kwik in Kingston, a Tolworth-tower based training company, charity Fara and a Wimbledon accountancy firm, who all lost Christmas party payments amounting to more than £10,000.

Detective Inspector Jez Clarke from Kingston police is also on the creditors’ committee, after more than 50 borough police staff lost £1,080 paid individually for their Christmas party.

They were left angry when Raven’s Ait closed its doors on November 27, just days after receiving advance payments for many Christmas parties and weddings.

Among those worst hit was wedding couple Alexis and Byron Holloway, both 26, who lost £12,500 and were left with a last minute struggle to find a wedding venue for December 20.

Cheam High School teacher Mrs Holloway, who started treatment for breast cancer two days after her wedding, said: “The day after my wedding I had to get my hair cut off ready for my treatment. At a time when I can’t afford to get stressed it has been the most stressful time of my life. It has been absolutely heartbreaking.”

The couple have been left with a wedding bill of almost £30,000, after being forced to pay for another wedding at Woodlands Park Hotel in Cobham, which in turn halted plans to move into their new home and left them living with parents.

The creditors’ committee will meet with administrator Keith Stevens in the next couple months to check his progress on the investigation and ask further questions.

Mr Stevens said creditors’ committees are formed in about one in every 15 insolvency cases.

He added: “Bearing in mind it was about deposits and weddings and parties were cancelled, the meeting was always going to be lively. There was no violence, which you sometimes get in these situations.”