Tailor-made online operator Destinology becomes latest victim of pandemic

Tailor-made online operator Destinology becomes latest victim of pandemic

Plans to sell the Saga-owned business have fallen through

Saga-owned Destinology has been closed after sell-off plans fell through.

The luxury tailor-made worldwide holiday brand’s managing director Deborah Windle confirmed the closure.

“It is with great regret we have to announce that Destinology Limited is now closed,” she said in a message on the firm’s website.

Saga is known to have been in advanced talks about the sale of Destinology – which had an Atol licence for about 30,000 passengers a year – as part of a refocus on its core businesses.

But this process is known to have fallen through as due to additional uncertainty surrounding the overall travel outlook and the quarantine rules specifically.

Against this backdrop, Saga has decided to wind the business up as it is non-core to its wider tours interests.

It is understood that Saga would have needed to inject significant additional cash to support the business, with limited prospect that the company would be profitable in the next few years.

Saga, which revealed half-year losses of £55.5 million today, acquired Destinology in 2014 but instructed bankers in July in a fresh bid to find a buyer after previously seeking a sale last year.