POUND NOTES

HUGE LOSSES FOR TRAVEL FIRM PACKAGE holiday firm On the Beach has swung to a half-year loss after cancelled trips due to the coronavirus lockdown left it nursing a £35m million hit.

The group said it slumped to a statutory pre-tax loss of £34.1m against profits of £11.9m a year earlier after revenues crashed by two-thirds in the six months to March 31. On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits tumbled to £2.3m from £15.7m a year ago.

On the Beach said before the crisis struck it had had a boost from the demise of rival Thomas Cook, with summer bookings jumping 29%. But as the pandemic grounded planes from late March, it saw bookings dry up and a swathe of cancellations.

It said since the first half, bookings in April were around only 10% of normal levels.

But the group said it had seen a “significant” surge in demand since mid-June for holidays this summer as lockdown eases.

Many people are cancelling holidays and staying home