Bath adventure firm Global Enduro is forced to close
A Bath adventure expedition firm which has counted Princes William and Harry among its clients has gone into administration leaving a number of charities out of pocket.
Global Enduro, based in Argyle Street, announced this week it had ceased trading after ten years of organising fundraising trips all over the world.
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Adventure expedition firm Global Enduro has ceased trading
A tough past 12 months for the company has seen it try to negotiate long-term payment plans with five charities to which it owed money.
However the economic climate, and the fact that a number of letters detailing its financial difficulties were leaked online before Christmas, has proved too much and directors Simon Smith and Nick Capsey have admitted defeat.
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A statement from the firm said: "We're absolutely devastated.
"After a fantastic ten years, the recent economic climate has not been kind to many companies, and we're one of those.
"These are aspirational adventures but for many it is their second holiday. Finding new customers in the current climate has become extremely challenging.
"We know we've given people some amazing experiences whilst travelling on our own journey too – we've seen clients get married and even go on to have Global Enduro babies in the past ten years."
Since 2002, it has raised £3.4 million for a number of good causes.
In 2008 it enjoyed national publicity when Princes William and Harry took part in a 1,500km motorcycle rally across Africa.
One of the charities owed money by the firm is Sentebale, founded by Prince Harry with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.
A spokesman said it was seeking advice to try to make sure it received the outstanding funds.
Global Enduro's statement said it had spent the past year trying to come up with a financial plan to secure money for all the charities, and although some had accepted the new terms and conditions, it had not worked out.
It believes that the release of documents onto the internet created uncertainty among clients and potential clients.
It is not known how much money is owed to the charities, which also include the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, Unicef UK and Touch Africa.
The company has declined to answer specific questions about the subject.
However documents seen by the Chronicle suggest the sums could run into tens of thousands of pounds.
At the time of going to press none of the other charities had responded to requests for comment on the firm's demise.
Global Enduro had 11 trips planned to take place over the coming year, including a motorbike expedition in Cambodia due to leave on Sunday.
These have all now been cancelled and the company is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority to try to secure refunds.
7 Comments
by Derrick241
Thursday, February 07 2013, 9:52AM
“W. A. Batty and S. J. Evans of Antony Batty & Company LLP, 3 Field Court, Grays Inn, London, WC1R 5EF were appointed joint administrators of Global Enduro Limited on Monday 28th January 2013.
The directors of Global Enduro deeply regret that the company has failed. Despite a tremendous decade of growth, enterprise and philanthropy we have fallen victim to the immense financial pressures faced by many retail businesses in the current economic climate. Despite our best efforts, we have determined that our current financial situation is not capable of sustaining our normal operations and, accordingly, we will cease to trade with immediate effect.
If you have booked a future package with us which includes a flight, you are protected by our Air Travel Organisers Licence - ATOL 10225. Please contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the following link: http://tinyurl.com/ak7pwyc where full instructions as to how to make a claim will be given. Alternatively, you may telephone the CAA on 020 7453 6700 (from UK) / +44 (0) 20 7453 6700 (from outside UK) or email: claims@caa.co.uk
If your future package with us does NOT include a flight, then regrettably you are not covered by ATOL. Financial failure holiday protection should be included in your travel insurance policy, please contact your insurer and not the CAA in this regard.”
by Derrick241
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 12:14AM
“Well said Padvan
There are lots of companies around like this, they had my last post deleted, it said far too much truth about them, you should post everything you know about them on every website, Lonely Planet, travel blog, travel pod
The more people know about these companies and how they operate the better, I don't think they even had a license, I asked for it, the post got deleted,, they never gave out their ATOL membership number, the CAA won't give any refunds, they never put the (your) money into a trust account as required by law, they simply robbed you all, but simply lined their own pockets, they will rise again, (the profits are great and easy to swindle people out of their hard earned money and kill a dream)the law in this country are so lax, the police won't be interested in looking at them,
YES there are laws for these companies, but rarely enforced or even checked
Everything you need to know about their accounts are available at Company house, free for all to see
There should be a website out there to learn about companies like this, it has started, try this website
http://tinyurl.com/arcza3r
Let everyone know what this company is like, how much they have stolen from you and the rest of your group
Get others to post their disgust at this company, get this story out to the nationals, every website
Get the police to investigate them (if they can be bothered)”
by AusBarbarian
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 11:41PM
“Padvan Stephen,
You have every right to vent your anger. I cannot see how these volunteer tour companies function. There has been a proliferation of companies doing their bit for humanity in a well meaning way by offering over priced holidays that include some volunteering time on a project but they never seem to reveal exactly how much each charity will get.
Then, they go bust like GE and say some charities wont get their money and as for the "PUNTERS" and that is exactly what you and many others seem to be in this instance you have simply done your dough. If you want to gamble the local betting shop is set up for that. These trips and volunteer programs ARE NOT A PUNT, A GAMBLE, A CALCULATED RISK....they should be WELL ORGANISED, VIABLE TOURING HOLIDAYS WITH AN ELEMENT OF VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY PROJECTS THAT PROVIDES A GUARANTEED AMOUNT UPFRONT TO THE NOMINATED CHARITY.
I had been a tour operator for 43 years of HONEST TRADING. My staff in the UK embezzled passenger monies, ruined my businesses and started a new rival company to steal my passengers
and to date they have CANCELLED EVERY TOUR due to lack of numbers, working capital and a sound business plan.
Despite all the complaints to police, travel regulators and those that are supposed to regulate the travel industry in the UK from victims NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE AND NOTHING WILL BE DONE
BECAUSE people are so complacent and just not interested in doing their jobs, so UNTIL that changes and I would not hold my breath UK and foreign nationals WILL CONTINUE TO LOSE MONEY
AND HAVE NO RECOURSE.
In sheer frustration I have launched a new website http://tinyurl.com/arcza3r to ALERT people about the shonks, crooks, shysters, low lifes that prey on innocent victims as well as supporting and encouraging the GOOD AND HONEST OPERATORS to direct people away from the MONGRELS
that will take the uninformed EVERY CHANCE THEY GET.
This site is unbiased, has no paid advertising and will aim to help let the public know what to look out for when planning a touring holiday.
If a company receives an adverse comment they have every right to address the issues and it will be put out there that the operator realises it may have some shortcomings but is at least prepared to resolve the issues and strive to improve its performance and perception.
Check it out”
by Padvan
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 10:50PM
“No Nick Capsey - the 'vast majority' of your clients will not receive a full refund. I and many others were booked (and paid up) for your Duma Tau which did not include airfares, so we are all out GBP4,295 each. Thank you.
I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the number of posts (on this and other sites) that express sympathy for Global Enduro and its directors for their recent demise, and imply that the charities deserve some approbrium. Let me start out by disclosing that I took part in the 2008 Enduro Africa and the 2012 Enduro India and it was MY donations to these charities that GE stole (along with 4,295 that I pre-paid for another trip which was to have taken place this February), not theirs . Let's be clear, FOR YEARS Simon Smith and Nick Capsey, the two principals of GE, have been diverting funds that were collected from hundreds of clients like myself on behalf of the charities and using them for their general corporate purposes. This is not merely "sad" or "unfortunate" as some commentators have opined, but a serious criminal offense. As some commentator have accurately noted, GE DID NOT RAISE 3.5 MILLION for Charities - THEIR CLIENTS DID. Further, it is obvious that GE intentionally misled charities regarding the prospects for the eventual payment of the monies owed, to say nothing of continuing to solicit advance funds from future clients for trips that obviously could not materialise. I have nothing but admiration for the local people I met in Africa and India who were active in arranging the trips and for the work that hard-pressed charities were doing to try and improve the lives of some of the poorest people on the planet. That worthy mission has just been made that much harder, which they do not deserve. Simon and Nick belong in jail, and I sincerely hope that that is were they will end up. And here is one post that they will not be able to delete at their pleasure as they have done with all the previous ones that displeased them.”
by AusBarbarian
Saturday, February 02 2013, 2:07AM
“Nick, You were the Managing Director of GLOBAL ENDURO....
What on Earth went wrong?”
by nickcapsey
Friday, February 01 2013, 1:06PM
“Derrick229 - Global Enduro were an ATOL registered company and the vast majority of their clients will receive a full refund from the CAA.”
by Derrick229
Thursday, January 31 2013, 2:19PM
“maybe if they raised money for themselves they wouldnt have gone bust, but a lot of these overland companies are trading and they are insolvent, there is no place to check on these companies
I feel no sorrow for these people, they know how much mony they have, their clients dont, how much did they lose ?
Will they get anything back, I doubt it
Some people save up for a long time to go on trips like this
It is time the law took more notivce of companies like this
They dont belong to any organisation, very few have insurance, licence, or even decent staff, vehicles
More overland companies will follow this one
No one will get any money back from them”