Notices appeared on the shop doors of Quartz Travel in York’s Heworth Road and Quartz Travel Lite in Blossom Street (formerly Amigo Travel) advising that the premises were closed, before insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor confirmed Quartz’s owner, Paul Smith, had instructed it to help with the appointment of administrators.

Once appointed, the administrators will explore the potential sale of the business and assets.

Quartz, which closed on Wednesday August 31, was founded by entrepreneur Smith in 2004 and employed 13 staff.

A Begbies Traynor spokesperson said that the company’s financial difficulties arose from “a dispute with its managed services provider, through which holidays were booked, and resultant court proceedings”.

A spokesperson for The Freedom Travel Group, which was Quartz’s consortium, said: “We discovered significant breaches of contract in the way Quartz was handling bookings, and we therefore had no option but to terminate their membership in the interests of customers.”

TTG was unable to reach Smith for comment directly, but a Begbies Traynor spokesperson advised he did not want to comment.

However, the spokesperson added: “The proposed administrators are aware of the allegations but are keeping an open mind pending their appointment.”

Freedom confirmed that all bookings made by Quartz were protected under its Atol and customers who made a booking before July 11 had been contacted.

A Begbies Traynor spokesperson added that all bookings were protected by Atol and Abta, and “all relevant information is included in customers’ booking documentation”.

A message on Quartz’s answering machine says that the company is closed due to "unforeseen circumstances", and the website is down.