A UK-based travel company has made a comeback (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/Stock Image)
This year has seen a lengthy list of UK travel companies plunge into liquidation or face administration, from agents to package holiday providers, as they grapple with the economic climate. Yet one travel operator has made a tremendous comeback, with holidays available to book again, despite announcing it was entering administration just months ago.
Tour operator Groupia Ltd, which specialises in group holidays to destinations throughout the UK and Europe, including Barcelona, Croatia, Prague and Split, entered administration on 16 June 2026 and ceased all trading after 24 years. Since it launched in 2002, the firm, which also operates under the names Groupia Golf, GoHen, StagWeb, Groupia School Trips and Company Away Day, is said to have assisted over 750,000 travellers before it went into liquidation this summer.
Now, just three months later, Groupia has been brought back to life following a takeover by Cheshire-based firm Funktion Leisure. As a result, all of Groupia’s brands, including stag and hen specialists StagWeb and GoHen, are once again operational and accepting holiday bookings.
Groupia specialises in group holidays, including for hen parties and stag dos (Image: Groupia)
Funktion Leisure, the company behind Funktion Events, has also kept on a number of Groupia’s former employees to assist with the relaunch. Funktion events managing director Jay Broughton said: “We acquired GoHen and StagWeb out of administration because they’re two of the strongest names in UK hen and stag travel, with more than 750,000 customers between them since 2002.
“Both are back open and taking bookings, and early demand since the relaunch has been really encouraging, which tells us the appetite for these brands never went away. Our focus now is stability: looking after customers, delivering the experience people expect from GoHen and StagWeb, and building on it under an established, ABTA-bonded events group.”
Jay further told the Express: “The retention of several of Groupia’s key team members brings with it a wealth of experience and we’re already looking at ways to modernise our portfolio and set new trends going into 2027 and beyond. It’s really exciting times for the company and the industry as a whole.”
Funktion Events has been organising group activities since 2007, coordinating more than 55,000 hen parties and 12,000 stag weekends, as well as thousands of corporate and team-building events, with GoHen and StagWeb now joining the group. Funktion Events shared on their website: “Good news: Groupia and its brands are now part of Funktion Leisure Ltd, and bookings are open again right across the group.
“For now, it is business as usual, with every brand live and taking bookings. Over the coming months, we will be investing in the sites and the service, keeping what customers already value and improving the rest. We will share more as those plans take shape.”
Groupia is back in business and now under Funktion Leisure (Image: Groupia)
Similar to Funktion Events, Groupia Ltd, which was based in Bath, specialises in an extensive selection of group package holidays, including stag and hen parties. With a mission to deliver “group travel, made easy”, Groupia Ltd provides everything from spa escapes to golf breaks to professional corporate weekend getaways and team excursions.
The operator handles the “split payments and the chasing” for group adventures, while allowing customers to claim “the credit for the best trip ever”. And while Groupia officially launched in 2002, the concept had been developing for several years prior.
On its website, it explains: “In 1999, Groupia’s founder Simon Denning found himself staring down the barrel of a Best Man invitation, having little luck in finding a quality travel provider that could deal with different-sized groups and deliver high levels of customer care. One happy wedding, a funny wedding speech and some questionable wedding dancefloor moves later, StagWeb was born. Since then, over 750,000 clients have travelled with us and the Groupia family has grown to incorporate.”
Yet, Groupia wasn’t the first time we’ve heard of UK travel companies facing financial difficulties this year. Earlier this month, Barnes Worldwide Travel Ltd, an independent travel agent in Liverpool, ceased trading and its website went offline. Elsewhere, Golf Villa Rentals Ltd, headquartered in Seaford, East Sussex, and focused on golf package breaks across the globe, ceased operations on August 18, 2026.
Frasers Travel, a family-owned Scottish enterprise, was likewise confirmed to have collapsed after more than four decades of operation. Additionally, TS Travel Realisations Ltd and Yourtravelshop.com Ltd were both designated as ATOL failures this year, a status that occurs when a firm ceases trading or enters insolvency. Travel Bespoke Ltd and Trav Expert Limited also closed down in May, while earlier in January, Asiara UK Ltd, Simply Florida Travel Ltd, and Regen Central Ltd were all confirmed by ATOL as having lost protection under their schemes.