Cuba Holidays parent The Holiday Place’s administrators have confirmed the reasons for its collapse.
In a “statement of administrator’s proposal” published on Companies House, Begbies Traynor listed both Brexit and last year’s hot summer as factors in the company’s collapse on May 29.
The report states that despite an office move, investment from the directors personally and other initiatives such as new-style marketing and researching new destinations, The Holiday Place’s sales figures “didn’t hit the targets required to keep the business going” with the directors citing a “culmination” of factors resulting in the business’s collapse.
The report states: “The unusually hot UK summer of 2018 resulted in low sales during that period, compared to previous years. The industry was affected such that margins were adversely impacted, as holidays were discounted to attract customers. This directly impacted the company’s own margins and cash flow.
“The wider economic and political climate also had an impact. Brexit resulted in poor exchange rates which impacted upon holidaymakers who were thinking of going abroad with the actual price of holidays having risen.
“With the news in 2019 being dominated by Brexit, there has been a prevailing sense of uncertainty.”
The report adds the average price of the company’s holidays was in the region of £1,200-2,000 per person, with people “reluctant to commit to this significant expenditure, with the prevailing uncertainty”.
The company said it saw a change in consumer behaviour whereby instead of a surge in bookings for summer holidays traditionally seen in January, there was a “significant decrease” that month.
Without significant investment, The Holiday Place would have “run out of cash”.