James Villas has officially stopped taking any new reservations and plans to close.

Parent company Awaze plans to shut down the brand, with 40 jobs at risk.

It offered villa holidays at 600 properties across Europe.

Awaze CEO Henrik Kjellberg,said: “Our focus at Awaze is to sell holiday homes that we manage exclusively on behalf of our owners.”

“We have decided to cease trading with James Villas as that model relied on guaranteed inventory.”

“James Villas core inventory represents less than one per cent of our total supply.”

Without disclosing specifics, Awaze said it will ‘minimise the impact on our employees, suppliers and customers.’

Employees are being consulted about the next steps.

All James Villas customers with bookings are being contacted this week.

Those with close-in villa holidays returning by the end of November won’t be unaffected

The rest will be offered a full refund or the option to book another Awaze Group property.

Other Awaze managed brands include Hoseasons, NOVASOL and Cottages.com.

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