A Greater Manchester travel group which collapsed into administration with the loss of 2,500 jobs has formally been liquidated.
Specialist Leisure Group had owned coach firms Shearings, National Holidays and Wallace Arnold and entered administration in May 2020. At the time, travel trade organisation Abta said more than 64,000 bookings had been cancelled because of the failure of the Wigan-headquartered group. The company also owned a number of hotel chains including Bay Hotels, Coast & Country Hotels and Country Living Hotels.Two months later, administrators EY filed a document with Companies House stating that the group owed around £417m to its unsecured creditors.
In the report EY said the Covid-19 pandemic had a "significant impact" on the group's financial position - particularly as lockdown hit at a key time for cash collections for spring and summer trips.It saw a large number of cancellations, with the company's main demographic, older people, especially vulnerable to the virus.The Shearings brand and website was sold to Leger Holidays and is operating as a new venture.