CORPORATE recovery experts from Buchanans in Southampton have safeguarded the future of Club Direct Insurance Services which was placed into administration last week.

Peter Whalley from Buchanans has sold the travel insurance company to the Collinson Group, securing 35 jobs in the process.

Mr Whalley said: "Interest in Club Direct has been brisk with quite a number of competing bidders. The difficulty we faced was to balance the desire of interested parties to conclude a purchase quickly with our objective to achieve the best possible price."

He said this purchase has secured employment for the 35 staff at Club Direct and its two subsidiaries - an outcome which he said would not have resulted from a sale to some of the other bidders.

"It also means that we should be able to pay a reasonable dividend to creditors who have lost out."

Colin Evans, the chairman of the Collinson Group, said "This was a great opportunity to add to our market share and it allows us to leverage our core strengths in the independent travel sector. The market is fiercely competitive and few independent companies have been able to achieve critical mass. I am certain that more of these opportunities will present themselves as fallout continues within this market".

Club Direct Insurance Services Limited was placed into administration on an order of the High Court on October 30. The company, which has been one of the country's fastest growing agents for travel insurance, got into difficulties earlier in the year with debts totaling £2m.