Up to 40 jobs at risk following Hoseasons acquisition

The new owners of Hoseasons have revealed initial details of how the company will be integrated into its existing business following its £51 million acquisition in February.

Wyndham Exhcange & Rentals Europe, Middle East, Africa and India communications director Nigel Main said the deal means Wyndham now owns both Hoseasons and Holiday Cottages group, the two largest domestic breaks businesses in the UK.

While both companies are undergoing restructures, the full details of which will be announced in the summer, the company is starting a 30-day consultation which will start at the beginning of April concerning up to 40 job losses, although it is hoped that redundancies would be kept to a minimum.

Main added three Hoseasons directors will also be made redundant while chief executive Richard Carrick will be retained in a consultancy role.

Hoseasons business development director Pali Badwal will take the title of operating director for parks, lodges and boating and will continue to work in the Hoseasons Lowestoft offices.

Main said the further changes to the two businesses are currently under review with further announcements as to how they will be structured expected in the summer.

However, he added consumers and agents will not see any changes being made for either Hoseasons or the Holiday Cottages Group and their brands for summer 2010.

Main said: “It is regrettable that we have to go through this process but we’re combining two businesses and we’re maintaining open communications with our employees through this process.

“We are doing our best to minimise the potential number of losses and we hope to create a number of opportunities too. We bought the business to grow it, we didn’t buy it to run it down.

“The combined businesses will be responsible for taking around two million people on holiday this year which is great news both for the UK and the UK’s economy.”

Carrick said he was delighted to be staying on to do some “novel and exciting” work for the new parent company. adding the new combined business would create the UK’s largest portfolio of self-catering properties ever put together.

Carrick added, in the longer term, he was keeping his options open including the possibility of staying on at Wyndham if a position became available or if a similar opportunity to the one he took on at Hoseasons presented itself.

“I will be looking out for other opportunities, including doing what I did at Hoseasons. There is plenty of private equity money available, but a slight scarcity of suitable deals at the moment,” he said.