BRITAIN’S arm of the bureaux de change chain International Currency Exchange (ICE) has been shut as the pandemic lockdown hit travel businesses worldwide.
Teneo Restructuring Ltd has taken over as the administrator of ICE and its group company Lenlyn UK.
All 26 bureaus of the companies in the UK, including their outlets at airports and rail stations and online currency platforms, have ceased to operate with immediate effect.
Teneo said the closures have resulted in a loss of 119 jobs.
While their operations outside the UK are not affected by the insolvency process, other companies in the wider ICE group operating within the country also continue to function.
The travel industry has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and that led to a dip in demand for physical currency in the past 18 months, Teno’s managing director Richard Hawes said.
“Directors (of the companies) have worked to try and deliver an alternative outcome for the group, its shareholders and its creditors, and the focus now is on supporting staff at this difficult time”, Hawes, who has been appointed a joint administrator, said.