Recession hits Norfolk holidays company

A north-Norfolk company which organised holidays for snowboarders in Europe has become the latest victim of the recession.

Four jobs will be lost as Chalet Snowboard (CSB), which had registered addresses in Holt and Fakenham, is voluntarily wound-up following a meeting of the company's creditors earlier this month.

CSB, the first British company to cater for the snowboard market, was set up in 1991 and was taken over by north-Norfolk man Jon Comber in 2004.

But over the last six months bookings had dropped, which the internet-based company put down to the effects of the economic downturn.

A spokesman for liquidators Lovewell Blake said a combination of poor Euro exchange rates making holidays in Europe more expensive and families finding themselves with less money to spend on trips away had led to CSB going under.

The business was not protected by an ABTA bond, which means customers who had already paid deposits for holidays and did not use a credit card have lost their money.

But a spokesman said the numbers affected had been kept low. He added: 'The director did manage to honour all bookings up to the end of January and stopped taking deposits as soon as he concluded that the company would be unable to continue trading - leaving only eight bookings which were not completed.'

Mr Comber has worked with Lovewell Blake to organise the liquidation. The company's assets will now be sold and creditors will receive a proportion of the money raised.

CSB ran holiday chalets in the ski resorts of Morzine and Avoriaz on the French-Swiss border and also sold snowboarding equipment.

All creditors of CSB are asked to contact Lovewell Blake, 89 Bridge Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, NR32 3LN, by June 30, with their name, address, details of any debt or claim, and the name and address of their solicitors.