A travel agent is battling to recoup £50,000 in lost business after flooding forced his agency to close for three days.
Peacock Travel and Tours in Twickenham was forced to close its doors on October 6 after building contractors for Thames Water struck a pipe.
Keith Lloyd, general manager UK, described the closure as “a complete nightmare”, adding: “We’ve lost around £50,000 in business through the closure and that’s a lot of money.”
The pipe burst directly in front of the King Street agency, which was previously Edwin Doran’s Travel World before it changed hands seven months ago.
Thames Water has accepted responsibility for the incident and Lloyd is expecting to be compensated for loss of business.
“The entire basement of the shop has been decimated and all of our archive files and brochures are ruined,” Lloyd explained.
“It’s going to take three weeks for the basement to be dehumidified.
“We are covered through insurance. A loss adjuster from Thames Water is working with us on it and has been to see the damage caused.”
A spokeswoman for Thames Water said: “We’re really sorry to people and businesses affected by the burst pipe. Our workers damaged it by accident and we’ll be doing everything we can, as fast as we can, to put things right.”
Peacock – part of the Nigerian-owned Peacock Group – bought Edwin Doran’s Travel World in March for an undisclosed fee, giving the group its first presence on the UK high street.
Lloyd said customers had been very supportive during the closure, with many emailing to offer help or assistance.