Luxtripper claims ‘to top £11.9 million’

Administrators of luxury online operator Luxtripper, which failed in October 2023 despite its Atol being renewed only a month earlier, report receiving creditor claims for more than £8.2 million but say “this is likely to increase”.

The ReSolve Advisory administrators’ latest report notes “we continue to receive proofs of debt” and confirms it continues to investigate the company’s affairs, stating: “There are a number of matters into which further investigations are being conducted.” 

The administrators note “difficulty in obtaining records and files” in conducting their work, having estimated the company owed £11.9 million when it ceased trading before receiving a director’s Statement of Affairs.

More: Luxtripper estimated to have owed £11.9m at time of failure

This suggested the company owed £8.2 million. However, it assumed a £458,475 Atol bond would be returned and HMRC would allow a £456,000 tax credit despite the company owing it almost £600,000. 

In reality, HMRC retained the tax credit and submitted a claim for an outstanding £128,000, and the Atol bond amounts to barely 10% of the £5 million-plus owed to consumers.

The administrators note they previously assessed the level of unsecured debt at £11.9 million and maintain “this is likely to increase”, noting that just 33 claims have so far been received amounting to £5.7 million when the Statement of Claims reported 849 consumer creditors, plus more than 250 trade creditors owed £2.27 million and another £930,000 owed to industry figures who lent Luxtripper money in return for future equity. The progress report makes clear that none of these unsecured creditors will receive anything from the administration.

The CAA renewed Luxtripper’s Atol in September 2023 despite the administrators noting that in October 2023 “the cash position of the company had deteriorated to the extent that salaries could not be paid”.

It renewed the Atol on the basis of company accounts showing a near £1.1 million profit for the 12 months to March 2023 thanks to ‘intangible assets’ valued at £3.6 million – up from £626,000 in the company’s 2021 accounts. When these assets were independently assessed after Luxtripper ceased trading, they were valued at £36,000. Without that £3.6 million valuation, the company would have shown a significant loss.

Its employees, owed £740,000 according to the Statement of Affairs, have received £121,886 from the Redundancy Payments Service.