Holidays 4 UK Limited collapses

Small British tour operator Holidays 4 UK Limited has collapsed with 12,000 travellers abroad, after running into financial difficulties due to dwindling demand, administrators announced on Wednesday. PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a statement that the company had applied to go into administration -- the process whereby a troubled firm calls upon independent financial help to restructure the business and remain operational. Brighton-based Holidays 4 UK Limited specialises in package holidays and flights to Turkey. The travel firm employs just 18 people and trades under the names Holidays 4 U and Aegean Flights. Its annual turnover is about £35 million. "The company has suffered because of the difficulties faced by the travel industry during 2010 and 2011, as a result of the economic downturn," added Ian Oakley-Smith, joint administrator and director at PwC, in the statement. "The director has determined that the business is no longer able to trade and placed the company into administration. "The company will cease operating with immediate effect. Regrettably most staff have been made redundant." In a separate statement, the government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would arrange repatriation for all 12,000 Holidays 4 UK customers that are currently stranded abroad. "Travel company Holidays 4 UK Ltd has ceased trading with immediate effect," the FCO said in a statement, adding that all holiday bookings have been cancelled. "The CAA will ensure that all Holidays 4 U customers are able to fly home as planned; they should therefore arrive at the airport in time to check in for their flights home as normal."