XL Leisure Group plc, the third-largest player in the UK holiday market, has run out of funds.
Today the group went into administration, which means it applied for court protection from its creditors to see what can be saved. In all, eleven companies are listed on the Group's announcement. Four individuals have been appointed by the court to run the companies' affairs.
The first decision the administrators had to make was: should the group continue trading? Their decision was no. All aeroplanes have been grounded, and all flights cancelled. Once a business becomes unviable, total collapse is usually quite quick, because no-one wants to trade with it.
The group had grown quickly since a management buyout in 2006. Fast-growing companies need a lot of cash to grow, and so are particularly vulnerable in a downturn if their bankers decide to call it a day.
