22 January 2010

Apartments Abroad collapses - UPDATED

Long established accommodation only company Apartments Abroad has ceased trading despite last-ditch efforts to sell the business.

The Stoke on Trent-based firm, which handled 100,000 customers a year via its apartmentsabroad.com trading division, failed yesterday.

Steve Currie, a director at the Stoke office of business rescue, recovery and restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor, confirmed that attempts to establish a rescue package for the company had failed and it had ceased trading.

Apartments Abroad managing director Ian Thirlwall said: "Despite the strenuous efforts of the company and its advisers it has unfortunately not been possible to continue trading.

"It is deeply upsetting as we had come exceptionally close to selling the business as a going concern before Christmas.

"When that fell at the last hurdle a subsequent promise of support for our cashflow then also failed to materialise.

"Despite that blow we and our advisers continued to explore avenues to save Apartments Abroad and right up until today were negotiating a possible sale. Sadly this could not be achieved and with great regret we ceased trading.

"As Apartments Abroad was almost exclusively a trade wholesaler and because we were committed to pre-paying suppliers prior to departure we expect the impact upon consumers to be minimal.

"I would like to express my gratitude to all those in the trade, at home and overseas, who have supported Apartments Abroad for the best part of two decades.

"Their support, which I trust they felt we reciprocated, was always much appreciated."

The news broke through a notice on the company's website which said: "It is with deep regret ath Apartmenta Abroad Limited has ceased to trade as of 21 January 2010 and shall be placed into liquidation shortly."

All enquiries are being directed to Begbies Traynor at stoke@begbies-traynor.com .

Formed in 1991, the company also offered resort transfers through the website resorttaxis.com and provided overseas properties for sale.

This is the first major travel company failure of 2010 but follows the demise of Allbury Travel Group and Globespan last month.

*Getabed.co.uk stepped in to re-protect bookings following the failure of Apartments Abroad.

"We have already been contacted by ground handlers and agents that have been affected and have successfully re-protected all their bookings," a spokesman said.

"During the past 19 years of trading, this is not the first time we have offered help, and unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last."

by Phil Davies