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Travelex cuts 1,300 jobs after striking rescue deal

Travelex
Travelex

Troubled foreign exchange provider Travelex has struck a rescue deal to stay afloat, but with the loss of more than 1,300 UK jobs.

Administrators PwC said that a pre-pack administration sale of certain Travelex entities in the UK had been reached, saving 1,800 jobs across the country.

Travelex provides forex services for customers of HSBC and Barclays and the banking arms of Tesco and Sainsbury's through its automated order placement service.

Parts of the firm that deal with supermarkets, large corporate and banking customers, and some of its airport business have been bought by a newly created company controlled by its lenders.

Its shops on the high street, as well as some airport branches, that were closed during lockdown will not have their doors reopened.

The deal will see the new Travelex group established with debts reduced from £385m to £160m and delivers £84m of new money.

Toby Banfield, joint administrator at PwC, said: “The completion of this transaction has safeguarded 1,802 jobs in the UK and a further 3,635 globally, and ensured the continuation of a globally recognised brand.

"Unfortunately, as the majority of the UK retail business is no longer able to continue trading, it has regrettably resulted in 1,309 UK employees being made redundant today.”

Business Briefing Newsletter REFERRAL (Article)
Business Briefing Newsletter REFERRAL (Article)

The company had previously warned that the collapse in international travel due to coronavirus was affecting demand for its currency exchange services, as well as having issues moving bank notes between locations.

In addition to the pandemic, Travelex was plunged into crisis at the turn of the year following a cyber ­attack.

A criminal group, named Sodinokibil, infected Travelex's computer servers on New Year’s Eve and claimed to have accessed sensitive customer data, demanding a ransom of $6m (£4.6m) or data would be sold on the black market.

Travelex immediately took its website offline to prevent the virus spreading further.