THE owner of a Southampton letting agency that suddenly closed has pledged that no customers will be left out of pocket.

Charlie Singh, who ran C2 Sales and Lettings in Portswood, said he shut up shop for personal health reasons.

The father-of-three insisted that all rents and deposits are with the relevant landlords and arrangements have been made for prospective tenants to collect their contracts.

Mr Singh, who ran the business with his wife, said tenants due to move into two houses that subsequently fell through have also been fully reimbursed.

He said: “No-one is going to be left out of pocket. The only person left out of pocket is myself.

“We have closed for personal health reasons. It was quite a successful student letting agency but health comes first.’’ The owner added that the landlords of all the 40 houses, flats and studios for sale and letting that are still on display in the agency’s window have been notified of the business’ closure.

Mr Singh said that no staff had been made redundant as one worker had left the business and another had moved to another job.

The University of Southampton Students' Union has urged any students affected by the agency's closure to seek advice from the union’s housing advisor.

Since the Portswood Road office closed last week many students have been chasing up what has happened to their deposits and tenancy fees for newly arranged accommodation.

They have been met by a typewritten sign on the agency's door saying that that the company is now closed for business, with an email address to contact.