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Hoseasons growth stalled by lack of opportunities
Hoseasons chief executive Richard Carrick said its acquisition plans have hit the buffers because there are not enough well-run and profitable companies around to buy.
During his 18-month tenure, Hoseasons has purchased Bowhills, which had 300 French properties, and Dales Holiday Cottages, but Carrick would liked to have acquired more firms.
He said he took a close look at many of the operators Hoseasons had considered buying and found they were not making money.
“You’ve got to kiss an awful lot of frogs when you start looking at companies,” he said. “The market is changing more than ever and we’re interested in any firms which are well positioned in areas that are growing.
“Although there are companies which are making money, they are few and far between.”
Carrick denied the market was poor and said the companies which were finding it tough were those which had not successfully adapted to the changing conditions.
“Operators that are still waiting for the market to recover are doomed,” he said. “Those that are still on the old annual cycle of brochure production with dated IT systems won’t survive.
“You need to have flexibility these days. There are now 57 million low cost airline seats on the market, up 23% on the past 12 months, and 820 no-frills flights between the UK and Ireland every week. Holiday entitlement hasn’t changed so there’s an enormous growth in short breaks, with people taking trips of varying duration.
“If you’re not in that short breaks market, you’re not competing, but many companies are still stuck offering just one and two week holidays.”
But Carrick said having an online business was not a guarantee of success.
“The competition is now fierce with so many firms offering beds and flights. But how many of them are actually making money?”
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