Affordable Car Hire has entered voluntary liquidation after 18 years of operation.
Founder and chief executive Angela Day said she made the “tough decision” on March 1 and said she was “devastated and deeply saddened” to close the business.
Day said she had spent the last few days calling all her trade partners to inform them of the move but said “there are going to be some that are hit by this”.
She said: “There were still a few agents that are owed money. We worked tirelessly to try and get all the refunds through but there are still some agents who haven’t had their money back because we just could not get it from some of our suppliers.”
Day said unpaid refunds amounted to “less than £100,000 in total”.
A statement issued by one consortium advised members still waiting on refunds to register their claim with the firm handling the liquidation by March 25, including a link to a form they needed to fill in to make their claim.
Day said she hoped that any agents still out of pocket would be repaid in this way.
“I really hope they get it back,” she said.
Day said: “Like many companies, Affordable Car Hire started 2020 on a very positive note with a healthy number of advance bookings, detailed plans to launch a new website and extend the range of vehicles available to clients.
“However, the coronavirus pandemic brought unexpected chaos to the travel industry and some of our vehicle rental partners sought Chapter 11 protection, sold off their fleets and closed thousands of locations around the world.
“In turn, Affordable lost thousands of bookings virtually overnight as the travel industry ground to a halt.”
She continued: “As we start 2022, the situation has not improved. Due to the depletion in numbers of suitable rental partners, the dramatic increase in pricing with the lack of quality and fleet availability due to the vehicles’ age and the delay in the restart of travel as it once was, it would be impossible to be competitive, and affordable, in a decreasing market.
“The obstacles just keep coming one after another and I feel really sorry for the car rental market. It’s on its knees.”
Day concluded: “I know the travel industry will recover over time, however, with a heavy heart, I have had to make the decision to close Affordable Car Hire with immediate effect.”
Day said that the company had employed over 30 staff pre-pandemic, the majority of whom it had had to lose – either through resignation or redundancy.
She said the company had “never come fully out of hibernation from furlough” and had fewer than 10 staff by the time the decision was taken to enter voluntary liquidation.
“From a personal perspective, this is a devastating decision, but one that unfortunately had to be made. We started Affordable from our kitchen table in 2004 with my husband James Moore and we built it to be an award-winning company with an excellent reputation.
“We have worked with some fantastic people on this journey and made many friends throughout the travel industry.
“We would like to thank them, our vehicle rental partners and the many thousands of travel partners we have worked with over the past 18 years and wish them all the best for the future.”
Day added: “I hope to return to travel in time; it’s an industry that I love.”