Shearings, which was relaunched last year after its brand was snapped up by fellow escorted tours specialist Leger Holidays, said moving to a trust account regime meant client money would be held in an independently operated account until the holiday has been completed.

The operator, which had previously been bonded through Abta, said it could now offer financial protection to customers across all products including self-drive and gift vouchers, which had not been previously covered.

Liam Race, commercial director for both Leger Holidays and Shearings, said: “While Leger Holidays was delighted to resurrect the iconic Shearings’ brand last year, the collapse of the company under the former owner left a nasty taste for some customers left out of pocket due to some holiday components being uncovered by the BCH (Bonded Coach Holidays) bonding.

“Shearings has a loyal, repeat business customer base and we wanted to reassure them that this would never happen again and that they could continue to enjoy the same Shearings’ holidays they love, while being 100% covered for every penny they spent on their holidays.”

“Travel agents can assure customers that Shearings has chosen the most robust financial protection for their holiday payments.”

Shearings has also introduced a new One Price Policy with holidays priced by package and date of travel rather than by availability and time of booking.