Western & Oriental eyes further deals

Saturday, 07 Dec, 2006 0

Fast-growing luxury travel group Western & Oriental says the pipeline of potential acquisitions “remains strong”.

Unveiling results for the year to September which showed a reduced pre-tax loss of £1.3 million against £1.7 million the previous year – described as being in line with expectations – the group said there were further “exciting opportunities” to expand both into new product areas and geographically with a mix of smaller as well as more substantial acquisitions. The group recorded a 76% rise in turnover to £14.4 million.

W&O acquired five luxury UK travel businesses since listing on the AIM in March and added Made to Measure Holidays last month.

Chairman David Howell, former finance director of lastminute.com, said: “We believe we have put the foundations in place to lead the consolidation of this niche sector of the travel market.”

He added: “The board expects that the acquisitions made to date should generate sufficient cash profits to support the group’s revised cost base on an annualised basis. We also view the future with optimism and remain confident that we can create a substantial group and deliver significant shareholder value in the medium to long term.”

W&O’s brands include Regent Holidays, Ranch America, Harlequin Worldwide Travel and South American Experience.

Managing director Ian Neale said: “We have made significant progress in extracting the cost efficiencies of the enlarged group and we will continue to look for ways to operate even more efficiently.

“We have also started to cross market our various product offerings into our enlarged customer base – approximately 75,000 users – but we still believe there are further significant opportunities to be gained in this area. Growth in cross selling will provide additional volume enabling us to generate improved margins through scale.”

Report by Phil DAvies

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Phil Davies

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