LONG-HAUL
consolidators Travel 2/Travel 4 have been bought by US travel giant Cendant for
an undisclosed sum.
Travel
2/Travel 4 will operate as a separate business unit within Cendant’s Travel Distribution
Services division and forms part of Cendant’s bid to grow and expand its travel
businesses in Europe.
Travel
2/Travel 4’s current management team, led by joint managing directors Stuart
Harvey and Graham Moss, will “maintain their fierce commitment to the
travel trade” a statement said.
“The
provision of travel services has changed dramatically in recent years. This has
meant that the service we provide to our travel agency customers has had to
evolve. By becoming part of Cendant, we will be much better placed to fulfil
our ambitions for Travel 2/Travel 4,” he said.
As
part of the agreement Cendant will use some of the technology available in its
other subsidiaries, such as Galileo and Travelwire, to improve Travel 2/Travel
4’s product to agents and reduce the costs of distribution.
Cendant
kicked off its UK acquisitions drive a year ago with the purchase of French
Life parent International Life Leisure Group (Travel Weekly October 21).
Cendant
also owns Galileo, a string of US hotel brands, Holiday Cottages Group and
Welcome Holidays in the UK and Avis Europe.
A trade only consolidator, Travel 2/Travel 4 carries
over 220,000 people every year to long-haul destinations including Australia,
New Zealand, the Far East, southern Africa, north America and the Caribbean.
Revenues are in excess of £170 million.