All Leisure chairman hopeful most staff will be taken on by G Adventures

Allard confirmed to TTG that All Leisure’s tour operations, Travelsphere and Just You, were sold to G Adventures late on Friday December 30.

All Leisure’s Market Harborough headquarters had around 230 staff.

The CAA confirmed today (January 4) that All Leisure, comprising two cruise lines, Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic, had ceased trading.

All Leisure’s assets, including the Voyager ship, will be available following the appointment of insolvency firm Grant Thornton.

Allard confirmed All Leisure had tried to sell Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery too, but that it was “hard to sell something that’s not making any money”.

“We are really sorry that it had to happen this way,” he said.

“Trading for these two brands has been tough since the Arab Spring.

“Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery have historically travelled to places like the eastern Med and Africa, that’s been their bread and butter for many decades.

“While we poured more money into the business, you can’t change geopolitical events.

“As well as that, a lot of the costs of operating ships are in dollars and euros, which has been a struggle since the Brexit vote.

“It is a real shame the cruises have had to be cancelled, but thankfully no one is stranded.”

The CAA said around 400 people were currently abroad, which it was currently arranging to repatriate. It added that most customers would be able to use their scheduled airline tickets to return home, and that the CAA had made arrangements to bring the remaining passengers back to the UK.

All Leisure Group also had around 7,000 forward bookings. Information will be on the CAA website for customers to make a claim to get their monies back.

Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures, said: "Travelsphere and Just You are both leaders in their fields and we are all really excited that they have become part of the G Adventures family.

"We will be working hard to ensure that the loyal customers of Just You and Travelsphere continue to enjoy the award-winning tours that both brands organise, the future looks exceptionally bright and we look forward to expanding the range of tours for both Just You and Travelsphere."