Tradewind Voyages, the UK cruise line which operated Golden Horizon, could be forced to close after Companies House issued notice for a compulsory strike-off order.
The Suffolk-based line, which has cancelled all cruises until October 2023 and whose parent company faces claims of leaving ex-staff without thousands of pounds in unpaid wages, must object to the process or risk being dissolved.
Commonly, businesses are removed from the Companies House register as a result of failing to file accounts or non-payment of tax. From the point at which the notice is published, a two-month period is launched during which objections can be raised, else the company will be struck off.
Once a strike-off is completed, a company can no longer trade, sell assets or become involved in any other activities.
Tradewind is owned by Croatian shipyard Brodospilt and its parent DIV Group. According to Companies House, Tradewind’s only active director is DIV Group chief executive Tomislav Debeljak, who was registered on 24 May 2022.
TTG has contacted DIV Group for comment.
Around 20 staff at the cruise operator are believed to have been impacted by the pay dispute, a number of whom claim not to have been paid for several months before they decided to leave the company.
Speaking to TTG in September, Maddie Taylor, Tradewind’s former marketing manager, said she is owed nearly £14,000 by the company having last been paid in February. "We just feel used,” she said.
"I loved my job and put everything into it. I’ve cried my eyes out so many times over what’s happened… it’s been such a stressful and worrying time.”
Meanwhile, Rachel Healey, who joined Tradewind as UK business development manager in April 2020 before leaving the company in May 2022, told TTG how she was currently owed around £10,000 in wages and expenses.
“I’ve had to spend a huge amount of my savings, and we’ve had to rely on friends and family and borrow money,” said. Healey. “You feel like nobody cares and we just feel used. We all worked so hard, having launched during the pandemic. To have it all thrown back in our face is such a horrible feeling.”