Holiday Extras gains £30m borrowing facility extension

Holiday Extras has refinanced a NatWest borrowing facility to extend the company’s access to £30 million in funding for a further five years.

 

The agreement provides the financial flexibility to continue investing in technology, innovation, market expansion and acquisitions across Europe.

 

However, the group is winding down its theatre breaks project to concentrate on growth opportunities across its core products, European expansion and technology innovation “as part of a sharper strategic focus”. 

 

The company is making a multi-million-pound investment in its Airparks offshoot, upgrading and rebranding the sites, people and shuttle buses at Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Aberdeen, Birmingham and Luton airports.

 

A new partnership with European operator Sunweb will bring the holiday add-on firm’s airport parking options into its booking platform, covering customers in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

 

The company is accelerating its digital transformation by appointing Jason Jack as director of AI engineering to improve the customer journey, streamline operations and support long-term growth plans. He was previously chief technology officer and head of AI research at Rights Tracker.

 

Holiday Extras reported its best September, beating its previous record by more than 10,000 bookings. 

 

Chief executive Matthew Pack said: “Our record-breaking September shows the strength of demand for our products, and the renewed support from NatWest gives us the financial firepower to keep investing in our technology, our people and our customer experience. 

 

“Expanding our European partnerships with Sunweb, upgrading our Airparks proposition and welcoming Jason to lead our AI engineering programme are all key parts of our plan to make every trip better for our customers.” 

 

NatWest travel & leisure operate director Phil Brown said: “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Holiday Extras and support their ambitious growth plans through this extended facility.”