Lowcosttravel buys Ideal cruising
The lowcosttravelgroup has bought Ideal Cruising in a deal which will give the group, which includes lowcostcruising, combined cruise sales of £25m.
Ideal Cruising, which employs about 35 people at its call centre in Camberley, will become a wholly owned subsidiary and will continue to be run by its current management team.
Lowcosttravelgroup chief executive Paul Evans said: “We are delighted to have completed the purchase of Ideal Cruising and welcome their successful management team to the lowcosttravelgroup.
"We see this as a huge opportunity to grow Ideal’s revenues significantly on the back of demand for more flexible cruise holidays, with their strong teams’ in-depth cruise experience and the great technology and product that lowcost can add. "
He said Ideal Cruising would have access to lowcost’s accommodation, transfers and flight programme while the group would invest in technology to grow the Ideal business over the next five years.
Chairman of Ideal Cruising Ian Brooks added: “We are really pleased to be joining a stronger group that can add product, great technology and marketing strength to our existing team’s strong cruise knowledge and relationships.
"We see the opportunity to grow Ideal Cruising and the brand quickly as very exciting.”
Lowcosttravegroup’s trading figures for the financial year ended 31st October show more than 80% growth across its three core businesses (lowcostholidays.com, lowcostbeds.com and Resorthoppa.com)
Total transaction value is up 88% for the year to £205m and passengers are up 41% to two million.
“Despite this having been a very difficult year, with margins and profits under pressure due to the competitiveness in the market, as well as the unprecedented disruption caused by the ash cloud and the failure of suppliers including Globespan, Goldtrail and Kiss flights, the group expects when it reports, a solid EBITDA performance for the year on the back of this year’s growth," said Evans.
Key areas of growth include the Canaries, Balearics, Egypt and Greece, which are all up over 100% year on year in passenger volumes.
The group has expanded aggressively in Europe following the launch of German versions of its websites. Evans said he planned to have websites in 10 major European markets by the end of 2011.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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