A HUSBAND and wife have left holidaymakers thousands of pounds out of pocket after their company went out of business.

Brighton Holiday Homes, owned by Michelle and Neil Stonehill, told its customers on Monday it had ceased trading and their bookings would no longer be valid.

And they will not be able to get their money back from the firm, the Argus revealed on Tuesday.

The company provided accommodation in the city for holidaymakers, with an emphasis on hen parties who have to pay for their holidays six weeks in advance.

It acts as an agent, letting properties on behalf of the owners.

But now the Stonehills cannot be contacted and those affected say they are owed between £500 and £10,000.

An email to customers on Monday said: “It is with great regret that due to the challenging economic conditions, Brighton Holiday Homes has ceased trading with immediate effect.

“You will not be able to access the property you have booked so please do not travel to Brighton unless you have alternative accommodation.”

Since the closure on Monday, The Argus has been flooded with emails from desperate customers and furious homeowners.

Bride-to-be Gemma Dickson, from Dorset, feared her hen party was now £2,500 out of pocket.

She said: “My bridesmaid called me yesterday and said that they had gone out of business.

“It’s obviously stressful enough organising a wedding but now we might not even have a hen do.”

Niall Farnan, from Bristol, claimed he was owed more than £1,000.

He said: “We are a not-very-well-off family who have used the company for the past four years.

“My partner Beka and 13-year-old daughter, Lyra, come down as a family for Transpride and then spend the week enjoying our favourite town. We cannot afford to pay again and don’t even have a credit card between us. So no holiday for us this year.

“We bought our train tickets and even tickets to see a big David Bowie tribute as well. My daughter is very upset.”

Another unhappy customer, who lives in Scotland and asked not to be named, had booked a holiday with the company for June and paid for it last week.

She was told by email that her accommodation had been cancelled and any activities she had booked were “no longer valid”.

The woman, who was set to travel to Brighton with her partner and two children, said: “It has cost me a thousand pounds.

“This is completely unacceptable. I won’t be getting my money back so where has all the money gone?”

The latest records on Companies House show the business has not yet gone into administration or liquidation.

The company previously borrowed money from lender Funding Circle. In 2016, the lender described Brighton Holiday Homes as a success story in an article on its website, adding its profits has grown by 40 per cent.

The latest financial records available show the company had a net worth of £733,000 in 2017.

The company acted as a middle man between home owners and holidaymakers, who cannot now contact each other because they do not have one another’s details.

In some cases, the homeowners have been left with people in their properties who have paid their rent to Brighton Holiday Homes.

Other homeowners claim they have been left thousands of pounds out pocket.

One, who did not want to be named, said he was owed £5,000. “That is my children’s holiday gone,” he said.

The Argus understands that payments were still being made to and from the company on Friday.

Traders near the company’s office in St George’s Road, Kemp Town, say staff left the premises on Sunday.

The Argus:

Above, Brighton Holiday Homes pack up their office

The Stonehills also run another company, The Big Fat Weekend, which organises events for guests staying in their accommodation.

Steve Tyler is the owner of a hen-party company called 76 Events, which worked closely with the Stonehills for years.

He said: “There are no winners in this, only losers.

“People had to pay their money six weeks in advance to the company.

“I think there would have been about 300 hen groups paying £1,500 for accommodation and then £400 for their events.

“Recently, payments from the company got later and later, but we had worked with them for a long time so there was a trust element. We’re owed £2,500.”

They company advised customers seeking refunds to contact their credit or debit card provider.

The Argus emailed and rang the Stonehills 11 times and visited the company’s offices but was unable to reach anyone for comment.

The premises appeared to be empty and a sign on the door advised people the business had closed down.

Other holiday businesses in the city are offering discounts to those affected.