The Surrey-based company collapsed last August, affecting more than 2,000 holidaymakers – 500 of whom were abroad at the time – and owing money to a variety of companies and individuals.
Some of the company’s assets were bought by operator Simpson Travel, which has continued to offer trips to the country. Exclusive Escapes Ltd is now in the process of being wound down and dissolved.
Monies owed include a claim from the CAA totalling £3.5 million – a figure only revealed in the latest report by the administrators at Moore Stephens, seen by TTG.
The claim was not included in the initial statement of affairs compiled by the administrators.
Other companies listed on the original creditor schedule include Monarch Airlines (£134,000), Air Partner (£565,000) and Titan Airways (£313,000), but administrators have confirmed they will not receive any of the monies due, stating that there is “no prospect of a distribution to unsecured creditors”.
A spokesperson for Air Partner said: “As our contracted flying programme with Exclusive Escapes ended early, we were able to mitigate our exposure and as a result suffered no cash loss.”
Should the CAA not receive the owed funds, it will likely have to draw the £3.5 million from the Air Travel Trust Fund, representing the largest amount since Brighton-based Holidays 4U collapsed in 2011.
Employees are also unlikely to receive owed monies: “Preferential claims in respect of arrears of wages and holiday pay are estimated at £22,621”, the administrators said, but added: “There is no prospect of a distribution to preferential creditors.”
The release of the administrator’s report comes a month after the failure of fellow Turkey specialist, Elixir Holidays.
As with Exclusive Escapes, which blamed political turmoil in the region for its collapse, the administrators of Elixir attributed geopolitical problems for the failure of the business.
“January 2016 would normally be a busy month but the Istanbul bombing caused customers to delay booking,” administrators Antony Batty & Company said.
“Elixir was unable to recover from the hole in the cash flow,” they added.
Creditors for Elixir have now submitted claims totalling at least £1.4 million.
A number of operators continue to remain cautious about their 2016 Turkey programmes. The likes of Thomas Cook, Neilson and Mark Warner have all either cut capacity or pulled out of the country entirely in recent weeks, with many holidaymakers keen to avoid Turkey following a series of bombings.
Others such as Anatolian Sky have sought to diversify and move into other destinations.
In February, Tui Group said that summer 2016 bookings to the country were down by 40%.
*This article was amended to clarify the creditor schedule and to include a quote from Air Partner
