Ian Taylor


Baldwins Travel set to be wound up 75%


Baldwins Travel is due to be wound up at a High Court hearing next Wednesday (June 25), ending a complex and uncertain chapter in the Kent-based agency’s history. Investment firm Westwood


Capital Finance sent in receivers on May 7 following Baldwin’s default on loans secured against the freehold of three properties – the company’s head office in Tunbridge Wells and buildings in Tonbridge and Tenterden – in November 2023. Baldwins’ sole director Nick


Marks, whose family owned and ran the agency until September 2021, registered a High Court winding-up petition on May 8. The winding-up comes after Abta


terminated Baldwins’ membership on April 1, Iata suspended Baldwins’ accreditation on April 28 and Advantage Travel Partnership confirmed Baldwins was no longer a member in May. However, Baldwins’ difficulties


go back to September 2021 when the business was acquired by Inc Travel Group, part of a web of companies run by Jack Mason – who became a Baldwins director – Scott Dylan and David Antrobus. Two months later, Barclays


Bank launched court proceedings against Mason, Dylan, Antrobus and others in pursuit of £13.7 million in “unauthorised borrowings” and subsequently obtained freezing orders prohibiting the sale or transfer of assets, including Baldwins.


UK arrivals to US remain steady but trade sales ‘mixed’


Travel Weekly reporters


UK visitor numbers to the US are holding firm despite concerns over the Trump administration and the value of the dollar, government statistics suggest, but industry sources report a mixed picture. Analysis of flight arrivals by the US


Department of Commerce suggests the UK market was up 2.7% at 1.57 million for the first five months of this year, with May itself 2.4% ahead of the same month in 2024. Some national media reports


suggested a ‘Trump slump’ had started to take effect when figures


4 19 JUNE 2025


from the department’s International Trade Administration showed a 14% year-on-year decline in UK arrivals during March. However, that dip could largely be attributed to the timing of Easter, which fell in March last year, and that assessment was borne out by a 15.1% year-on-year increase in UK arrivals in April. Despite the current resilience of


the UK market, total international visitor numbers by air to the US are down 0.8% for the year to date, with overall international visitation yet to be totalled pending the addition of figures for land arrivals from Mexico and Canada.


The Travel Network Group


revealed the US remains its leading long-haul destination, despite “consumer sentiment”. Vim Vithaldas, chief commercial


officer, told members at the group’s conference in Bucharest this week: “I’m very surprised to see the US still at number one. [I hear] people say it is too expensive or they don’t like the politics, so they can’t afford it or are boycotting it – but they are still going.” He also noted the exchange rate


had moved to be “more in our favour” in the past few weeks, which should help the US remain in the top spot. Barrhead Travel president


Jacqueline Dobson said the agency’s US sales had been performing well recently, adding: “We’ve actually seen an increase [in bookings].” However, Intrepid Travel chief


executive James Thornton said UK sales to the US were 25% down year on year. In addition to concerns over politics, he said travellers were also wary about the cost of the destination, and younger customers in particular had been “voting with their feet”. USAirtours director Guy Novik


said this year had been a “rollercoaster” for US bookings. “I think the market


is about 5%-8% down,” he said. i TTNG Conference, page 6


travelweekly.co.uk


Minimum proportion of Baldwins shares owned by Worldwide Travel Holdings


The three men were found to have


breached these orders by moving the assets, including ownership of Baldwins, first to a company in the British Virgin Islands and then to the US state of Delaware, and each was sentenced to 22 months in prison by a High Court judge last October. The receivers have made clear


their role is solely “to manage and sell” the three properties and although Barclays’ freezing


orders pre-date the charges on the properties, this is understood not to be an issue. It is unclear whether Baldwins’


ultimate owner, Delaware-listed Worldwide Travel Holdings, is involved in the winding-up as the petition was filed by Marks. However, company filings


show Worldwide Travel Holdings retains 75% or more of the shares in Baldwins and the High Court was satisfied that Dylan, Mason and Antrobus retained control of the Delaware company and thus of Baldwins Travel. Marks did not respond to requests


for comment. Abta confirmed members could


“submit pipeline claims in respect of Baldwins Travel” in May.


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Jason Finn


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