Relevant Document:Financial Report
U.K. travel group Emerald Global has appointed KPMG as joint administrators after the business struggled to navigate the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent travel restrictions, sources told Reorg.
Emerald requires an injection of new money after it suffered a significant decline in revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said. The U.K.’s current travel restrictions and uncertainty regarding the reopening of the travel industry have dissuaded some funds from investing, sources commented.
The travel operator had been working with advisors from KPMG for several months and the advisory firm ran an accelerated M&A process at least one month ago in an attempt to find a rescue buyer, sources said.
Lawyers from IBB Law are also acting as the group’s joint administrators, according to legal filings seen by Reorg.
As of Dec. 31. 2019, Emerald Global had liquidity of £1.4 million and debt instruments of about £5.5 million, according to its latest financial report. Habib Bank and Barclays are the group’s incumbent lenders.
The travel operator said in its financial report that as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the company has experienced a reduction in bookings and future revenue is likely to be affected by travel restrictions and consumer confidence.
Founded in 1980 and based in London, Emerald Global is a family-owned business in global tailor-made independent and group travel. The company’s core business is flight consolidation, selling flights on behalf of 75 airlines, trading under the eConsol brand. It also operates a direct-to-consumer business trading as People’s Travel as well as a travel management platform, providing corporate travel services to corporates and embassies which trades under the Emerald TMC brand.
---Lara Gibson