Ian Taylor


Teletext owner Truly Travel dissolved £10M


Truly Travel, which traded as Teletext Holidays and Alpharooms, and parent Truly Holdings were finally dissolved this month, four and a half years after going into liquidation. The company folded in November


2021 after the Competition and Markets Authority initiated legal action over a failure to pay £1.2 million in refunds to consumers due to Covid-era cancellations and Truly lost its Travel Trust Association (TTA) membership. Liquidators Robert Cundy and


Bijal Shah of Edge Recovery issued final reports on both companies last November. They reported Truly Holdings


held assets with a ‘book value’ of £9.5 million held by group companies at the point of liquidation but estimated these would “realise nil”, while Truly Travel had insufficient funds to pay more than £10 million worth of claims from 32 unsecured creditors. The liquidators received a


claim against Truly Holdings for £4.9 million from lender Santander UK, for which it held security, and further claims for more than £5.5 million from unsecured creditors. Expected claims for a further £3.7 million did not materialise. However, the liquidators noted there would be no payout in any case. Truly Travel was owed


£4.9 million in refunds by accommodation providers and tour


Abta says finances healthy in wake of Baldwins payouts


Ian Taylor


Abta paid out more than £700,000 on member claims following the failure of Baldwins Travel, accounts for the 12 months to last June show. Baldwins was placed in


liquidation in July 2025 after Abta rescinded its membership and called in its bond, allowing members to submit claims for pipeline money. The accounts, filed this month,


show Abta received 213 claims worth £808,268 by the end of June and paid out on 184 totalling £718,698. Baldwins was the sole member to fail in the period, and pipeline


6 16 APRIL 2026


claims related to it are closed, but Abta has retained three outsourced claims-handling partners “providing us with the ability to quickly upscale resources in the event of a failure where we require a fully outsourced facility or additional support for our in-house claims team”. Abta noted it switched to “a new


and improved” claims-handling platform in January. The accounts reveal no overall


change in membership numbers despite 54 head office members leaving during the year – because 25 new head office members joined along with 29 ancillary


Amount owed by Truly Travel to unsecured creditors


operators when it folded – money claimed by the TTA to offset the amount owed to consumers. An additional £728,000 in


third-party funds to Truly Travel was received during “the course of the liquidation”, of which £405,000 was paid to the TTA as the company’s only secured creditor. All consumer claims were dealt


with by TTA Travel, part of The Travel Network Group. Truly Travel’s Statement of Affairs


following its liquidation had noted funds totalling £456,000 were held in a TTA trust account – considerably less than the money owed to consumers. Association of Atol Companies


advisor Alan Bowen suggested at the time this showed up “a real flaw” in trust accounts, arguing: “The trust account should in theory have had enough money to refund.” He blamed “the system of


allowing payments to suppliers at the time of booking and then insuring against their failure”, saying: “It calls into question whether trust accounts that allow you to pay suppliers work.” However, The Travel Network


Group chief executive Gary Lewis noted: “Holidays will go ahead as planned. Bookings are financially protected.”


Michael Budge


office members, leaving the total unchanged at 1,126. Abta reported a group surplus


after tax of £1.1 million, down from £3.4 million the previous year, due to a trade association loss of £81,000 compared with a £344,000 surplus to June 2024. The association made a surplus of £1.2 million on its insurance activities, down from £3.1 million the previous year. The group’s net assets increased


by £1.1 million to £33.9 million. Members’ subscriptions for


2024-25 rose by 7%, bringing in just over £7 million of the £11.8 million in trade association revenue.


Abta finance director Michael


Budge said: “Abta’s finances are in good health and our membership numbers remain strong – a good position to be in as we deliver Abta’s new five-year strategy, with members front and centre. “Our focus is to ensure our


activities and services continue to help members run successful businesses, whether developing their business capabilities or responding to events.” He added: “There is also continued focus on promoting the value of Abta membership to consumers, [and] we do this while remaining a lean organisation.”


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Alex Maguire Photography


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