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Islanders have donated more than £16,000 to rescue a local nightclub after continued closures and “limited and totally inadequate” support from the Government put it at risk of permanent closure.
J-P Anquetil launched an appeal to the "kindness of people who have come to Rojo and want to come back" three weeks ago.
It came after he realised the Beresford Street-based nightclub would only be able to qualify for "minimal support" as part of the Government's long-awaited Visitor Attractions and Events Support Scheme. The scheme only enables businesses to claim support from December, but J-P said Rojo had accrued £45,000 of debts in the eight months prior.
Rojo’s nightclub, like other clubs in the island, has been shut since March 2020, and there is currently no plan to allow those premises to reopen anytime soon.
Pictured: Rojo has been closed since March 2020.
“Part of the problem is that we do not know how long this is going to last. If we were reopening next week, I might say, possibly, maybe we could be fine, we could try and take most of the debts. But this could go on until April, May or June and we have no confidence that the Government will do anything else quickly," J-P said.
With only a handful of nightclubs left in the island, J-P said the closure of Rojo would be a “devastating blow to the island’s scene”, in addition to leading 15 to 20 staff to lose their casual and full-time jobs.
He said he hoped to raise £15,000 which to help cover “immediate outstanding critical debts and interest payments that remain unpaid”, as well as staff wages which have to be paid a month in advance before a claim can be made under the payroll scheme despite the club having no income. Part of the funds will also go towards settling some of the loans Rojo has borrowed during the pandemic.
Islanders responded enthusiastically to the appeal, with more than 550 digging into their pockets and donating a total of just over £16,000 with two weeks to spare, leaving the Rojo's team "speechless".
In a post shared on the nightclub's Facebook page, the team said the fundraising page will remain open until 10 February. "We won't turn down anyone who would still like to make a donation. At the moment we have no indication as to when the nightclub may be allowed to open so having a bit extra in reserve makes sense.
"Any funds that aren't used will be donated to charity and we'll consult everyone in advance if that is what ends up happening.
"For now it just leaves us to once again to say a massive thank you to each and everyone of you from all of us at Rojo."
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