Sunny days ahead for Chorley holiday firm after finance secured

Alfa Leisureplex Group has secured a £17 million credit facility, including a £5million Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loan from Lloyds Bank.

The funding will be used to support the business in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and follows on from a £1.9million overdraft extension that was put in place by Lloyds Bank at the end of March.

The Chorley-based Alfa Leisureplex Group takes more than 115,000 people on holiday every year with a fleet of 48 state-of-the-art tourist coaches and has 22 seaside hotels across the UK, including in popular resorts such as Newquay and Llandudno.

Managing director Emma Russell said: “Lloyds Bank has given us the financial support we’ve needed during this difficult period.

“The bank put emergency overdraft funding in place within 48 hours during the early stages of the crisis. The facility provided immediate assistance, enabling us to refund our customers.

“Over the past few weeks we’ve worked with Lloyds Bank on a broader package of support. The new facility means that we haven’t had to make difficult decisions in relation to our staff and our customers."

The £43 million turnover business, which is 75 per cent owned by its 710 employees, has had to furlough many staff who are now looking forward to returning to work.

Ms Russell said: “We’ve been able to use this period of closure to design and shape our future holiday experiences.

"We will be introducing a new range of weekend short coach breaks in 2021 incorporating ‘must see’ events across the UK.

“We’ll also be adding more pick up points as we recognise that more people may choose to holiday closer to home in the future.

"Whilst we are waiting to resume operations, we have been working on our plans to safeguard our customers and teams when we re-open, so that our guests can continue to enjoy our holidays and service, knowing that their safety is our priority.”