| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 24/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 5 |
| Copyright: Other |
Holidaybreak buys Hotelnet site
HOLIDAYBREAK will create six new jobs as a result of its £1.3m purchase of hotel listings Internet service Hotelnet.The purchase was made through Holidaybreak’s camping and short-breaks subsidiary, Superbreak Mini Holidays, which already promotes its products on the Hotelnet site.
Hotelnet founder Richard Knowles, who set up the site in 1995 running it single-handedly from home, will be kept on to develop the business. He will receive £500,000 of Holidaybreak shares for the next three years as an incentive to stay on board.
The name Hotelnet will remain and the business will be based at Superbreak’s offices in York. The site will also still feature links to hotel groups such as Minotel and Great Western and will be revamped to make it more user friendly.
Holidaybreak chief executive Richard Atkinson said: “We are buying a separate business which we want to develop and grow.
“We want to increase the product range both for the UK and overseas making it more available to agents and more attractive to visitors as well as offering on-line booking. Agent sales form the bulk of business and that will remain the case.”