Travelzest raises £5.15m through float on AIM

Friday, 04 Oct, 2005 0

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

below social share icons

Phil Davies

From the beginning, ATI’s philosophy has been “innovation, not duplication.“ Developing specialized technology solutions to connect over 30,000 accommodation, attracti...

Offering the most powerful portfolio in the industry, our 30 brands and 8,000+ properties across 139 countries and territories give...

Greater Fort Lauderdale’s assortment of adventures awaits you. Whether you want to relax on the beach as the sound of...

Chargebacks911 offers scalable solutions that are customized for any business of any size in any industry. With the flexibility to...

The superpower in bed banks for 30 years We are an award-winning and trusted accommodation wholesaler since 1991. We are...

This is Jersey. An island shaped by the sea where some of the most astonishing tides in the world circle...

Jet2.com is the UK’s third largest airline, flying from ten UK airports to more than 60 destinations across Europe and beyond....

Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising nearly 7,300 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms, in...

Our Mission Ecommerce has transformative powers, and we believe everyone should be able to take part. But outdated solutions and...

The State of Michigan is blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the nation’s longest freshwater coastline, lakes that feel like...

The Florida Keys and Key West is a 126 mile long string of Islands connected to South Florida by the...

WANDERERS WELCOME to MISSISSIPPI Mississippi is a state for all those who are wanderers at heart. From lush, forested Appalachian foothills to...

SAINT LUCIA IS NO ORDINARY ISLAND Equal parts beauty and mystique, Saint Lucia captivates anyone who sets foot on her...

Destination British Columbia (Destination BC) is a Provincially funded, industry-led Crown corporation that supports a strong and competitive future for BC’s...