The OTA on Wednesday (24 September) said it had taken a strategic decision "to commence an orderly wind down" of its B2B segment.

Classic will take no further bookings, but will continue to support agents with any existing bookings. A total of 26 Classic Collection colleagues will now enter into collective consultation with the group.

On the Beach confirmed the decision in a pre-close full-year trading update.

"Over the last 18 months, we've made significant improvements to our B2B technology and proposition," said On the Beach Group chief executive Shaun Morton.

"However, we've not been able to deliver sufficient growth to sustain the continued investment required.

"We've therefore made the difficult decision to commence a wind down of Classic Collection and focus on our B2C business, On the Beach, where there are the strongest opportunities for growth.

"Our priority is now on supporting our colleagues, trade partners and their customers as we wind down the business and operations."

More: Agents lament closure of Classic Collection after nearly 40 years

The group said Classic "made a small loss" in the year to 30 September 2025, and that its B2B segment would be presented as "discontinued operations" in its final results, which are due on 2 December.

On the Beach itself recorded a third consecutive year of record growth, with total transactional value (TTV) in the year to 30 September up 11% year-on-year to £1.23 billion.

Bookings for summer are running 12% ahead of last year, which the OTA claims is "significantly ahead of the package holiday market". Bookings for winter 2025/26 are also running 12% ahead, it added.

The group expects its adjusted full-year profit before tax, excluding its B2B operations, to come in at between £34.5 million to £35.5 million.

Looking ahead to summer 2026, On the Beach said bookings "currently reflect the later booking trend reported across the market, with bookings being made increasingly close to the date of departure".

A timeline post-On the Beach acquisition

Classic Collection was once a pillar of the industry – a reliable and much-loved trade-friendly premium option. So how has it come to being wound down for good? We take a look at the strategic decisions which have charted the course of its final seven years, since being acquired by On the Beach.

Today On the Beach has confirmed plans to close the brand, after acquiring it for £20 million in 2018 and pledging to work with the then part-owner and managing director Nick Munday to “expand both of our product offerings”.

The group pledged to invest to grow Classic Collection’s portfolio of luxury holidays and support it in investing in, building and launching an online booking portal to provide travel agents with access to a portfolio of mainstream beach holiday product.

As such, the brand Classic Package Holidays – an online agent-only booking portal utilising On the Beach’s platform – was born, existing alongside Classic Collection Holidays. Then in September 2019, On the Beach’s chief international officer Oliver Garner was appointed chief executive of Classic Collection, taking over from Munday.

Garner was to manage both Classic Collection Holidays and Classic Package Holidays.

In November 2022 On the Beach unveiled its first rebrand for Classic Collection in 35 years and the two brands each received new logos.

Garner said at the time: “For Classic Collection, we have been focused on product differentiation and more complex product to increase market share, [while] agent-only Classic Package Holidays has seen considerable investment in technology and resources to support the travel trade and new destinations and hotel product.”

Last year the group revealed plans to simplify the its B2B operating model, combining Classic Collection and Classic Package Holidays under a “single brand” for B2B sales. It confirmed there would be further job losses at the operator, and it followed the departure of then chief executive Andy Freeth and product and commercial director Alex Gavalda.

Si Morris-Green was promoted to B2B director.

The new single trade platform promised agents “more product choice and booking flexibility than ever” – including being able to set their own rates of commission.

Morris-Green said last June that the operator remained "100% trade-focused", adding the platform already featured more than 5,000 hotels across 78 destinations. He said in December that the new-look operator’s ambitions for 2025 were "limitless” and conceded that that prior to the merger of the brands, Classic was focusing on too many things and had since acknowledged it needed to simplify its messaging and operations.

Classic returned to profit in the 12 months to 30 September 2025, reporting pre-tax earnings of £1.7 million, and at that point was licensed to sell around 30,000 Atol-protected package passengers over the next year.

On the Beach Group chief executive Shaun Morton said last December there was no reason the Classic brand couldn’t double in size "in the short- to medium-term" and then go on to increase passenger numbers to more than 100,000.

Morris-Green pledged more fam trips and educationals from the operator in 2025, as well as new training resources and marketing assets.

But in the six months to 31 March 2025, Classic reported a £1.3 million operating loss, down from the £200,000 profit recorded the previous year, due to an increase in overheads following last year’s restructuring.

Nevertheless, the company reported £4.8 million in revenue, up from £3.6 million last year, after bookings surged by 36% to reach more than 10,000.

Not much had been heard from the brand until news of Classic’s winding down in a pre-close full-year trading update released today.