Flight Centre snaps up UK youth operator
Aussie company Flight Centre is looking to buy more businesses in the youth travel sector after taking control of UK coach operator Topdeck Tours.
Flight Centre has agreed to buy 90% of Topdeck shares for a minimum of £21.84 million.
The coach company, which targets 18 to 30 year olds, was co-founded by Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner, who still owns 4%.
Under the deal, all of the UK tour operator’s shareholders will sell their stakes to Flight Centre with the exception of Topdeck managing director James Nathan, who will hold the remaining 10% and continue to oversee the business.
Turner said: “We are very interested in building a global youth business. We would like to get into other areas [besides tours] that 18-to 25-year-olds like to participate in.”
Flight Centre announced a 10% rise in underlying pre-tax profit to AU$376.5 million for the year.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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