Travelzest raises £5.15m through float on AIM
Acquisitive new travel group Travelzest has raised £5.15 million through a placing on the Alternative Investment Market.
The company, headed by former TUI UK chief Chris Mottershead, has been valued at £10.15 million.
As previously reported by TravelMole, Travelzest is seeking to acquire specialist niche travel businesses in the ski and golf sectors and is also interested in internet-based travel distribution companies.
The hunt for further acquisitions follows the purchase of retail, online and tour operating firm Holiday Express for an initial £2.18 million.
Travelzest was formed from the purchase of French cottage holiday firm VFB Holidays, which had turnover of £11.5 million in the year to October 31 last year, carrying 24,000 passengers.
Mottershead told TravelMole he wanted to develop Travelzest into a £100 million turnover business in three years and would be looking to make between four and five acquisitions a year.
He said he saw the Holiday Express www.holiday.co.uk online brand as ripe for development into a portal for the portfolio of businesses Travelzest plans to create.
Mottershead said: “Travelzest has a focused buy and build strategy designed to create a group of specialist travel businesses servicing the holiday needs of a wide range of people outside the core Spanish package market.
“The rapidly growing online travel retail market is also of particular interest. We intend to grow the company through the acquisition of high calibre teams and businesses seeking to leverage the synergistic benefits of being part of a diverse group of specialist companies.
“We believe that having the company’s shares traded on AIM will provide us with an attractive currency with which we can implement our growth strategy.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive