A well established family-run taxi and coach hire company has gone into liquidation leaving almost £1 million in debt and six people without their jobs. Summercourt Travel Limited was declared insolvent in the fortnight leading up to Christmas.
According to Companies House, the firm entered what is known as creditors’ voluntary liquidation on December 18 when Kim Richards and Richard Tonks, of BK Plus Limited, based in Walsall in West Midlands, were appointed as joint-liquidators. The decision was officially published on The Gazette on Boxing Day.
A look at Summercourt Travel’s accounts on Companies House shows that the business, established 20 years or so ago, has left more than £908,000 of unpaid debts behind, including £280,000 as a directors’ loan to a creditor, £137,000 to Funding Circle, a London-based lender, nearly £31,000 to HSBC, just over £29,000 to His Majesty Revenue and Customs (the taxman) and nearly £21,000 to another Lancashire-based lender Haydock Finance Limited.
The accounts show that other creditors owed money by Summercourt Travel include Cornwall Council, various cars companies, utility companies and even Amazon for £43.
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Creditors’ voluntary liquidation is a formal process that allows the directors of an insolvent company to voluntarily close the business.
Summercourt Travel may have gone into liquidation, but its directors Robert and Sam Ryder and company secretary Sharon Ryder are also listed as either directors or company secretary of Merlin Vehicle Rental Ltd and Travel Cornwall Ltd which both continue to operate as normal.
The two businesses have the same address listed as the Old Coach Garage, St Austell Street, Summercourt, which is the same address as Summercourt Travel Limited.
If you look for Summercourt Travel online it takes you to Travel Cornwall’s website which continues to trade. On its website, Travel Cornwall describes itself as being “a locally based family run company offering taxis, minibuses, executive cars and coach and bus services.
It adds: “We’re situated between Newquay Town, Newquay Airport, St Austell, Bodmin, Truro, Fowey, St Ives, Falmouth, Perranporth, Padstow and Rock, and we’re in an ideal central location to provide services throughout Cornwall and further afield.
“We celebrated our 25th anniversary in 2022 and we continue to offer the same great recipe of quality vehicles, excellent service, knowledgeable drivers and competitive prices. No matter how big or how small your enquiry, we are waiting to hear from you.”
We have asked both Robert Ryder, whose email address still says Summercourt Travel, and the liquidators for a comment.
A spokesperson for BK Plus Limited said: “Summercourt Travel Limited entered Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation on 18 December 2024 when Richard Tonks and Kim Richards of BK Plus, were appointed Joint Liquidators by the members and creditors of the company.
“Prior to our appointment, the company had ceased trading which led to one of its customers adopting contracts of employment to 24 of its employees, with the remaining six employees being made redundant.
“Following their appointment, the liquidators will now set about realising the company’s assets, liaising with creditors, and as is standard in any formal insolvency process, reviewing the circumstances surrounding the company’s demise.”
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