Thousands of summer holidays at risk as popular travel company goes bust

Tens of thousands of holidays have been thrown into uncertainty after the parent company of Super Break and LateRooms.com collapsed.

Malvern Group today announced that it has ceased trading and all future bookings have been cancelled.

The company warned that Super Break customers currently on holiday may be asked to pay again for their hotel.

Some consumers will be financially protected by travel trade association, Abta or the Civil Aviation Authority’s Atol scheme, depending on what was included in their booking.

Those who bought gift vouchers or tickets to events or attractions have been told to seek a refund from their debit or credit card provider if that was how they paid.

KPMG, which has been appointed administrator to the struggling brands, said the firms had come under ‘significant cash flow pressure’ after one of Malvern Group’s shareholders defaulted on debt repayments.

Joint administrator, Tracey Pye, said the group’s directors had failed in their attempt to obtain further investment, prompting them to ‘take the difficult decision’ to enter administration.

She added: ‘Coming in the midst of the summer holidays, we understand this news will be of grave concern to 23,000 LateRooms.com and 19,000 Super Break customers who have future bookings with the group.’

York-based Super Break was established in 1983 and specialised in short city breaks in the UK and overseas, employing around 250 people.

Abta said the ‘vast majority of holidaymakers’ arrangements’ will be covered through one of a number of different types of financial protection.

Around 400 people are currently on holiday overseas or in the UK but ‘they should be able to continue’ with their trip as normal, Abta added.

Malvern Group expects reservations with LateRooms.com to be secure as the website acted as an agent on behalf of accommodation providers and did not take any payments.