ABOUT US
Who and What is Montserrat Events
Background History
It all began with an ambitious plan to run a celebration for the 75th anniversary of VE Day and subsequently VJ day in 2020 and was called LEE VE75. Following the cancellation in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic it was decided to run the event in 2021 and rebrand the event as The Lee Victory Festival.
The organisers were also approached to run the Lee Music Festival which had been operating for several years at a local bar/restaurant in the summer. This was incorporated into their plans to run musical concerts during the Summer under the name Summer Sounds.
As the organising team were now planning to run these separate events at different times of the year it was decided to formalise the organisation under an umbrella company and hence Montserrat Events Limited was formed.
Montserrat are eager to promote Lee as a vibrant place to live and for businesses to thrive and be successful.
Operations
Montserrat Events was established in March 2021. A group of volunteers was recruited for the LEE VE75 Event and worked on the Victory Festival which was financed by sponsorship from individuals, local organisations, and local businesses.
On the 1st March 2021, the business registered for VAT.
As the events evolved and was supporting the community it became apparent that the structure of the business needed to be amended; here the business changed to a CIC (Community Interest Company) in August 2022, which is overseen by the Regulator of Community Interest Companies.
The company has gradual grow in its ability to deliver more complexed events and has been able to add to its assets, which enables the business to function without having to hire items in and therefore being able use these as a revenue generator where they can be hired out at commercial rates or in the case of local charities / community groups can be hired at low costs or used for no fees; all part of the CIC offering Montserrat has.
Montserrat has £10m Public Liability Insurance in place.
Who are the Directors
Jonathan Moore - Founder/ MD has been a resident of Lee on the Solent since 2009. He has been the driving force behind all of the events seen in Lee and has been instrumental in bringing the team of lead volunteers together.
Vaughan Bidewell - Finance, has lived in Lee for many years and enjoys being part of a busy team looking after the financial side of all the events & projects working very close with Jonathan.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
As an organisation, Montserrat Events are exploring ways to help build a sustainable future by embracing initiatives that are better for the environment, for our community, visitors and volunteers.
We are at the beginning of our ESG journey as we look at ways to pursue sustainable ways of working and operating promoting health, wellness, diversity and inclusion, offering social initiatives and corporate governance; meaning that we work with integrity and honesty, and are accountable and transparent across our business operations.
Ways we are already implementing ESG is promoting; going digital with paperless tickets; promoting walking and cycling to our events; working with providers to give bus shuttles or additional public transport and working with local business for the provision of goods, services and entertainment and the use of single use plastics where possible.
We are endeavouring to do our best with ESG and we hope that you would like to join and assist us on our journey.
