The gig has been cut short for one festival organiser as trading on its shares are suspended and preparations are made to enter administration, following a summer of competing attractions and poor weather.

Music Festivals, which runs various events - including its two headline festivals, Hop Farm in Kent and the Spanish Benicassim - only began floating its stock on the AIM market in June last year but saw share prices fall from an initial 66.5p to the 2.12p value that trading was suspended at.

In an Olympic year, with a number of free concerts, the wettest British summer since records began, combined with high youth unemployment in Spain, saw Music Festivals struggle and led to 'material losses' being expected for 2012.

In a statement, the company said: 'The board has in recent weeks pursued a number of different funding proposals but the company has not been able to procure the necessary funding it requires.'

At the time of writing, no formal appointment of administrators had been confirmed but the company did report a pre-tax profit of £800,000 last year, with no debt.

Music Festivals was formed by its biggest shareholder and charismatic leader Vince Power, responsible for the launch of some of the UK's most established music venues, including the Mean Fiddler, Jazz Café and Reading festival.