Dealchecker sold to European rival
European travel portal Easyvoyage has snapped up the UK’s fifth largest travel price comparison website dealchecker.co.uk to give the France-based company a stronghold in the British market.
The acquisition will make Easyvoyage the fourth biggest price comparison website in the UK and the seventh largest travel website.
Easyvoyage, which also operates in Italy and Spain, has also acquired German price comparison website TravelJungle and online e-marketing agency FSI.
Founder and chief executive Jean Pierre Nadir revealed the Easyvoyage Group paid a total of €10m for all three businesses, with dealchecker the most costly of the three.
"Easyvoyage.co.uk has 400,000 unique users in the UK so we already had a position in this market but with dealchecker we will have one million unique users, which will put us in a strong position in the market and we will have a stronger relationship with our clients."
Easyvoyage, which makes money from clicks from its website through to its clients’ travel portals, expects to generate €800m of travel sales for its clients in 2011, rising to 1bn in 2012. Nadir said the UK site would be profitable this year.
The company made a €5.6m profit in France last year on sales worth €17m. Dealchecker, is already profitable, though easyvoyage.co.uk, a much smaller player, is not.
Nadir added: “We’re incredibly pleased to have made these important additions to our business which have reinforced our leading position.
"Our footprint already reaches 21% of travel internet users in the world and these new acquisitions provide a great worldwide growth potential.
"We have ambitious expansion plans for the UK and we aim to achieve one billion Euros worth of sales to our partners in 2012. We also hope to grow our UK email database to 7 million subscribers in 2013.”
Both the dealchecker and Easyvoyage brands will be retained, according to Nadir, and dealchecker founders Alex Saint, Troy Collins and Andrew Bredon will remain with the company for 12 months.
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
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 
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026