Specialist Leisure Group (SLG), which owns a number of UK based travel agencies and the coach companies Shearings and National Holidays, has collapsed into administration today.
All hotels trading as Bay Hotels, Coast & Country Hotels and Country Living Hotels will not reopen and all Wallace Arnold Travel shops are now permanently closed resulting in the loss of around 2,500 jobs.
Travel trade organisation Abta said the Group of companies had over 64,000 bookings, the vast majority of which were coach package holidays, all of which will now be cancelled.
Bookings made with the following companies will be affected:
• Shearings Holidays Limited.
• Wallace Arnold Travel Limited.
• National Holidays Ltd trading as Caledonian Travel and Travel Style
• UK Breakaways Limited
• Shearings Hotels Ltd trading as Bay Hotels and Coach and Country Hotels.
Customers who have booked package holidays are financially protected and will receive a full refund.Customers with forward bookings for Shearings Holidays, National Holidays trading as Caledonian and Travel Style, UK Breakaways and Shearings Hotels trading as Bay Hotels and Coach and Country Hotels should go to https://www.specialistleisuregroup.com/and follow the instructions on how to progress a claim.
For customers with an ATOL certificate, customers should go to https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Make-an-ATOL-claim/Latest-ATOL-holder-failures/ to start the refund process.
John de Vial ABTA Director of Membership and Financial Services said: “The Specialist Leisure Group included two of the UK’s best known coach holiday brands, Shearings and National Holidays, two much loved holiday companies who for many years have provided holidays both at home and overseas to a very loyal group of customers.
“Today is a very sad day for these customers and the thousands of staff who will have lost their jobs.
“The fact that two such well-known brands with a loyal customer base have had to call in administrators is a stark indication of the pressure that the holiday industry is under as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. ABTA has repeatedly highlighted to the Government the urgency of the situation and the need to set out a coordinated strategy with clearer communication if it wants to help avoid significant job losses and support companies to weather the storm.”
