A college charity has lost £443,000 after a bank holiday concert, with A-list headliners McFly and Alesha Dixon, flopped due to poor ticket sales.

Hillcroft College, which is listed on the Charity Commission’s website, had hoped to make a £200,000 profit from the Summer Live event at Sandown Park on August 28. But a Surrey Comet investigation has uncovered the charity spent more than £500,000 securing the concert, but only made £64,045 from ticket sales. The college had anticipated a 14,000-strong crowd, but only sold 3,000 tickets and failed to raise any corporate sponsorship.

The college, which is set in a Grade II listed Victorian mansion in leafy South Bank, Surbiton, is largely funded by the Government’s Skills Funding Agency, but also survives on funding from private donors and tax-giving. According to its 2009 accounts, it had a £2.3m income in 2008-09 and held £5.8m in reserves.

Hillcroft College shocked the music world when it secured contracts for the top artists including Tinchy Stryder and Basshunter in just six weeks. The event, which saw big names including Sugababes and N-Dubz turned away, was designed to raise urgent funds to fix the leaking roof, improve disabled access and carry out essential maintenance. The idea was spurred on by the collapse of £13m of Learning and Skills Council funding.

In a letter outlining the loss, the college’s director of corporate services, Frances Marsden, said no public funding from the Government was used. The college teaches 600 adult women, has 41 staff and was judged good when last inspected by the The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) in November 2006. It offers courses in business enterprise and management, access to higher education, information technology (IT) and preparation for life and work.

When Surrey Comet first reported the story there was talk of the event being repeated next year with an even bigger line-up, perhaps across two days. Since publication Hillcroft College has told Surrey Comet that their spokesperson was wrong last June and there has never been any concern about the solvency of the College.