A variety of reasons.
From the players side....
Aspers in Stratford was not universally popular amongst the APAT community. It"s not centrally located in the country which made travel difficult for many. Not me, I loved it.. but for many, it was a major stumbling block.
Accommodation was more expensive and harder to find in and around the venue, especially in London around the Easter holidays.
Some felt the higher cost of food and, especially, drink was a big turn off too.
As I said, a whole bunch of reasons over and above any financial ones for APAT in putting on the festival. After all, Grosvenor ARE the APAT sponsors this year.
I"m sure we"ll be back in the future but in the meantime Manchester will do us fine, I"m sure.
That reminds me, time to start booking my hotel. 🍺😀