Trade voices support for Baldwins staff after receivers appointed

Agents and members of the trade have voiced support for staff of Baldwins Travel after confirmation the agency chain had been placed in the hands of receivers.

The receivers were called in after a period in which the business was expelled from Abta, had its Iata accreditation suspended and left the Advantage Travel Partnership.

Receivers may be appointed by a court or secured creditor and are charged with managing and potentially liquidating the assets of a company to satisfy debts owed to a creditor.

Documents filed at Companies House on Friday noted insolvency practitioners were appointed on May 7.

The receivers were appointed after a creditor of Baldwins, Westwood Capital Finance, which holds charges or debentures against the freehold land of three Baldwins Travel properties – in Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Tenterden – obtained a court order.

The debentures, securities against loans extended to Baldwins, were entered into in November 2023 and are just two of seven outstanding charges on Baldwins Travel property, with others held by investment, finance and leasing companies.

The joint receivers appointed to secure repayment of the loans are Philip Jeffrey Ritson Deyes of Leonard Curtis in Beverley, and Frazer Ulrick of Westgates Restructuring in North Ferriby, West Yorkshire.

Malvern World Travel owner Lee Harrison said on Travel Weekly’s Facebook page his first family holidays were booked through Sevenoaks Travel, which was acquired by Baldwins in 2003, adding the staff “were (and still are) amazing”.

North-east agency Westoe Travel also commented on the latest news on the business, which charts its history back to around 1895, saying: “So sad after 130 years.”

Other posters took to social media to wish staff success in finding new roles and said they hoped a buyer would be found soon.

Hays Travel cruise call centre general manager Carol Macaskill said she had started her career in Tunbridge Wells, where the company’s head office remains.

She added the branch was “iconic to everyone in the town as the go-to travel agency”, adding: “Good luck and best wishes to all the staff.”

Marks attended the Advantage Travel Partnership conference in Malta last week, saying he wanted to help staff find jobs and reassure partners that information on the business was being processed.

Baldwins, which has 11 branches, lost an appeal in April against its expulsion from Abta for “failing to provide financial information”.

Two directors of the company, finance director Christopher Hatfield and chief commercial officer Dan Shaw, subsequently resigned.

Iata confirmed on May 14 that it had suspended Baldwins’ accreditation from April 28, while Advantage also confirmed it was no longer a member.