liquidation

Eleven UK travel firms have collapsed into liquidation since 2025, leaving customers seeking refunds after flights and holidays were cancelled and staff made redundant, amid wider uncertainty in the travel industry.

Eleven travel companies have collapsed into liquidation over recent months as the travel industry has been battered by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The closures since the start of the year have triggered flight chaos and left staff facing redundancy as a result.

In a number of cases, holidays have been cancelled outright, leaving customers scrambling for refunds or compensation.

In Oxfordshire, coach and passenger land transport firm Oxfordshire Travel Limited, based near Kidlington, went into liquidation in October 2025.

The company had traded for a decade before liquidators were brought in, after it was determined the business was no longer able to continue operating or settle its debts.

Set Sail Cruises Ltd, also based in Oxfordshire, was dissolved on March 17, 2026, with all planned sailings cancelled as a consequence.

The agency was just two years old, having been incorporated on February 4, 2024.

In the same county, The Padel Travel Club Limited also shut its doors with approximately £41k in short-term debts — any trips that had yet to depart were subsequently cancelled.

The business was incorporated in February 2023 and has since been struck off the Companies House register following a voluntary strike-off.

Documents suggest the company folded with short-term debts of just over £40,000 and insufficient assets to repay creditors in full, though a final liquidation statement has yet to be made available. Several other travel firms have also felt the full force of the struggling industry.

London-based Regen Central Ltd, an ATOL-licensed travel agency selling flight-and-hotel packages to Europe and Southeast Asia, lost its ATOL on January 13.

Following this, the company fell into liquidation and cancelled all bookings.

Another travel firm, Simply Florida Travel Ltd, based in Glasgow and well-known for selling “dream holidays” including trips to Disney World, was stripped of its ATOL holder status after dissolving in early January.

Holidaymakers were left chasing refunds as all packages and flights were subsequently cancelled.

Gold Crest Holidays, a coach-tour operator running trips across the UK and abroad, also collapsed and ceased trading in early 2026.

Following the liquidation, all members of staff were made redundant.

Numerous other travel companies have also stopped trading or dissolved since 2025. These include Asiara UK Ltd, Jetline Travel Ltd, Great Little Escapes LLP and New Era Travel.

Most recently, Strachan Travel Ltd, a Lancashire-based firm incorporated in 1983, entered voluntary liquidation.

Resolutions to wind up the company were recorded on June 11, with liquidators appointed on June 16, according to The Gazette.

The collapse of these firms comes amid a period of widespread uncertainty in the travel sector, following warnings issued by the Government and airlines in response to the conflict in the Middle East.

However, with a peace agreement now signed and several travel restrictions lifted, there is renewed hope for the industry.

AN iconic UK pier could be forced to close after its owner collapsed into liquidation.

The future of historic landmark, which dates back to 1866, remains uncertain.

Lions Pier Limited, which operates Eastbourne Pier, was issued a compulsory winding-up order last month.

Local hotelier Abid Gulzar, who is listed as the firm’s sole director on Companies House, was handed the order on May 12, 2026 following a petition filed on March 25, 2026.

As a result, Lions Pier Limited and the future of the pier is now in the hands of the Official Receiver.

Compulsory liquidation is typically triggered by an unpaid creditor, with the court appointing the Official Receiver to take complete control of the process.

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The Official Receiver is responsible for investigating the reasons behind the company’s failure and assessing the director’s conduct, which could lead to a director disqualification order and further sanctions.

Gulzar purchased Eastbourne Pier in October 2015, before going on to acquire nearby Hastings Pier, which he entered into voluntary liquidation in 2023.

Two of the businessman’s hotel firms, Chatsworth Hotels Ltd and Lion Hotels Ltd, were also put into voluntary liquidation in 2017.

The hotelier carried out extensive renovation works at Eastbourne Pier, including the construction of four new replacement buildings.

Now, the collapse of Lions Pier Limited has resurfaced questions over the ownershop of the pier’s physical structure.

If Lions Pier Limited is deemed the owner, the Official Receiver could move to sell the pier as part of the liquidation process.

However, if Gulzar holds the freehold separately, as was the case with Hastings, he may retain control of the asset despite the company’s collapse.

A spokesperson for Eastbourne Borough Council told The Argus: “We are monitoring the situation at Eastbourne Pier very closely.

“It is an iconic and much-loved seafront attraction, and we hope the Official Receiver can secure an outcome that ensures it remains open and restored for residents, visitors and businesses based on the pier.

“While the pier has always been in private ownership, council officers routinely check its general condition and these checks will continue.”

Eastbourne Pier was transformed into a defensive stronghold during World War II in the event of invasion, with part of the decking removed to deter enemy landings and machine guns installed in the theatre.

Nowadays, the pier proves a popular tourist attraction for those visiting the UK’s sunniest town, offering cafes, gift shops, arcades, and a live music venue.

The Sun has reached out to Abid Gulzar via the Official Receiver for comment.

AN AIRLINE operating flights in the UK has collapsed into liquidation.

Ascend Airways offers aircraft for other airline carriers, with previous carriers including Oman Air, Air Sierra Leone and Tui Airways.

The shock meltdown unfolded yesterday after Ascend Airways told crew of the sudden shutdown and immediate loss of operations.

An insider told The Sun: “It’s gone bust today, we got the news this afternoon. We’ve all been given the letters that it’s all going into liquidation.”

Bosses waited to make a public announcement until a flight from Muscat landed safely back at Stansted Airport (YD187).

A company email blamed a storm of economic pressure, soaring UK costs and a lack of contracts for the collapse.

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“It’s to do with the economy, we couldn’t get contracts, the UK is a lot more expensive than Europe,” the insider said. “The fuel situation had a massive effect on it as well.”

Behind the scenes, workers had feared the worst for months amid unpaid bills and mounting financial strain.

Hopes were pinned on securing a crucial IOSA licence in March to unlock global routes, but the bid ended in failure.

Desperate talks to save the company collapsed when potential partners refused to take enough aircraft to keep it afloat.

The insider claimed: “It’s 40 per cent cheaper to use airlines in Europe than the UK because taxes are too high.”

“We’re not going to get paid for May and we have to go through the liquidators.

“You could get up to £750 a week but we’re not going to get the full amount we’re owed.”

The collapse comes despite recent recruitment, leaving staff furious and confused. The insider said: “We were quite surprised they took on more crew, I think they were banking on getting the IOSA.”

But the final blow came when the airline reportedly failed to pay its leasing company, triggering a rapid downfall. “When we heard they hadn’t paid, we knew it was downhill fast,” the insider admitted.

Initially launching at Synergy Aviation in 2004, it became Ascend Airways in 2023 with a fleet made up of one Boeing 737-800 and six Boeing 737 MAX 8.