The organiser of a flagship Year of Homecoming event that lost hundreds of thousands of pounds has gone into administration.

The Gathering, a high-profile clan meeting in Holyrood Park which was attended by Prince Charles, lost £600,000 last year.

The two-day event in July included Highland Games and saw 100 of Scotland's clan chiefs assembled for the first time in recorded history.

But a public sector rescue package launched last year failed to save organisers The Gathering 2009.

Campbell Dallas has been appointed administrators after Edinburgh City Council wrote to the Scottish Government yesterday to say it would not be able to help the firm.

Derek Forsyth, of Campbell Dallas, said early indications were that an estimated £430,000 is owed.

A statement released by the administrators today read: "Derek Forsyth, an insolvency specialist with Campbell Dallas, has been appointed provisional liquidator of The Gathering 2009 Limited."

Mr Forsyth, who was appointed yesterday, said: "In spite of the directors exhaustive efforts over a protracted period to secure funding sufficient to meet the company's liabilities, this had ultimately not been achievable, leading to the directors filing for liquidation.

"I will now seek to find a buyer for the company's asset base, which includes the intellectual property associated with setting up and hosting a major international event."

The Gathering attracted 47,000 people from at least 40 countries and finished with a clan parade along the Royal Mile and a pageant on Edinburgh Castle esplanade.

City of Edinburgh Council leader Jenny Dawe said: "Despite the undoubted success of the Gathering 2009, in terms of the economic impact, an independent assessment has indicated that the company has no share value and that its intellectual property is worth at best £100,000. In short, its current financial position is unsustainable.

"On that basis, and despite our best endeavours, we regret that the council has been unable to find an acceptable way in which to help to resolve the company's outstanding commitments and to protect the Gathering brand for the future.

"This is a very difficult time for the council financially, particularly as we seek to reduce expenditure in order to achieve a balanced budget, and so our options are extremely limited."

"We do however remain interested in being involved in any future Gathering events."
In October last year the Scottish Government said it would write off a debt of £180,000 owed to them by The Gathering 2009 as part of a drive to help the company.

A Scottish Government spokesman said today: "The Gathering 2009 was an extremely positive event that attracted 47,000 visitors from around the world and generated £10.4million for Scotland's economy and £8.8million in Edinburgh.

"The Scottish Government did what we could to secure the future of The Gathering by not seeking to recover what we were owed by the company that ran the event. Other public sector creditors did the same.

"Given the potential economic benefits of future Gathering events, the Scottish Government fully supported the intentions set out by the City of Edinburgh Council in October, and we are very disappointed that it has not been possible to bring this plan to fruition."