CLIVE Jacobs and Harry Goodman took their first steps back into the travel industry this week buying Page and Moy’s cruise business for an undisclosed sum.
The founders of Holiday Autos and ILG respectively, along with Kevin Ivie, a former director at TUI UK and First Choice, are behind Totally Travel Limited which bought Page and Moy’s Leicester-based call centre and 1st4cruising.com and go-nowtravel.com websites.
With a £40 million turnover the business is among the top five UK cruise retailers. Totally Travel, set up to target business opportunities in travel, will unveil details of a tour operation within three months, packaging long-haul cruise-based products for the UK.
Jacobs, who is a non-executive director, said: “Cruising business is booming; it’s a sector that has huge potential and there is going to be enormous capacity because ship building is going through a phase of growth.
Jacobs said improvements to websites are planned but does not see cruising becoming a big online player because of the complexity and cost of the product. Goodman said the aim is to double the 1st4cruising business in the next three years.
He said he and Jacobs will continue looking for further investment opportunities not necessarily under the Totally brand. He ruled out opening high-street outlets.
“What we looked at originally was a cruise-based operator but buying this operation gives us a database, a retail call centre and experienced staff,” Goodman said.
The new business will continue to operate from Leicester, Goodman is executive chairman, Ivie the managing director, and former Jetlife MD Ian Morrison is the product director.
Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.
The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.