Lastminute.com parent company Travelocity Global is to close the global trade arm of Holiday Autos after the brand was sold to Cartrawler.

The trade business was not part of the deal, which only included the brand name, assets and white label business of the car hire firm.

Travel Weekly understands the move will lead to a substantial number of redundancies, but most will occur in Germany where the company employs around 200 people and has a strong trade presence.

The company said in a statement: “Following consultation with local representative bodies in each jurisdiction and after much consideration, the decision has been made to withdraw from the trade sector across all geographies.

“Holiday Autos is currently in the process of informing all partners as well as suppliers about this decision and is reviewing steps to be taken for bookings which depart after these dates.”

The UK business will continue to take bookings until August 31 for departures until October 31.

In the meantime, Holiday Autos said it would continue to provide customer support services as usual for existing bookings.

Customers who want to cancel their booking departing after that date can do so without a cancellation fee and will receive a refund.