The parent company of tickets specialist Keith Prowse is to be placed into administration as it undergoes a financial restructuring to secure its future.
Seatem Attraction Tickets, which trades as Keith Prowse Tickets and Theme Park Tickets Direct, closed trading today as it prepared to call in administrators.
The future of the Keith Prowse brand, which dates back to 1780, will be determined by administrators which Travel Weekly understands are due to be appointed within days.
The company is said to have planned the restructuring for some time and has sought to limit the amount of trade liabilities and number of customers that would be left out of pocket. Trade partners have all been contacted about the move.
A small number of customers, believed to be in the low hundreds, who bought tickets online through Theme Park Tickets Direct, risk losing their money prompting rival firms to step in to rebook them.
A message on the direct sell brand’s booking hotline said it was no longer able to despatch tickets and suggested customers contact their credit card companies.
Tony Seaman, sales and marketing director for rival tickets specialist Attraction World, said: “We have been picking up bookings for Theme Park Tickets Direct all week as people hadn’t been receiving their tickets.
“People are booking again and then they can try and get refunds through their credit cards. We’ve had around 20 bookings today.”
ATD Travel Services Group, parent company of Dosomethingdifferent.com, is offering a free “within 24 hours” courier service on newly booked tickets to customers of Theme Park Tickets Direct.
Oliver Brendon, chief executive and founder of ATD, said: “It’s obviously sad when any company ceases to trade but we are doing all we can to re-protect their customers and deliver tickets on a next day courier service in order to restore their faith in the sector.”
The administration and financial restructuring of Seatem Attraction Tickets is totally unrelated to a winding up order filed in the High Court by Fulham Football Club against a different company in the Seatem Group. Seatem Ticketing Services. This case is due to be heard on August 25.
Keith Prowse Tickets is not associated with Keith Prowse, a trading name of the Compass Group’s sports, leisure and hospitality division.