Specialist travel agency Classic Travel and the Golf Concierge brand have both been acquired by rapidly expanding Scottish travel group Minoan.
Established in 1982, Classic – trading as Classic4Travel – is currently operating profitably with gross revenues of £2.7 million.
Minoan is paying up to a maximum of £600,000 for the business, dependent on it meeting targets over the next two years of trading.
Classic has offices in Uddingston and Helensburgh in Scotland and serves both the leisure and business markets. It has a growing network of home based travel agents operating from London, Leeds, Lisburn, Edinburgh, Belfast and Falkirk and a ‘same sex’ travel agency, Lotus Travel.
Classic will be integrated into Minoan’s travel portfolio, which includes King World Travel, John Semple Travel and Stewart Travel.
Minoan has also acquired the Golf Concierge brand, which generates revenue from the sale of specialist world-class golfing breaks to both UK inbound and outbound tourists, offering more than 50 courses and associated resorts across 17 countries.
Further acquisitions are also being sought, the company revealed.
“Although there are numerous further opportunities available, in current conditions only a limited number meet all of the board’s requisite criteria,” Minoan said in a trading update.
The group said profitability should be enhanced by a recently announced agreement with the National Federation of Sub Postmasters which will see travel kiosks installed in sub Post Offices, The first 50 are due to be in place from next month in time for the new year peak booking period.
Minoan announced the issue of almost 5 million new shares at 10p per share, valued at £490,923, in a move to “satisfy certain liabilities”.
The Civil Aviation Authority’s new Flight Plus Atol regulations have put “significant pressure” on the whole industry’s finances, the group said.
As a result Minoan said it was taking further steps to protect customers by using a trust account for eligible bookings, without incurring extra costs.
The group said its travel companies exceeded last year’s comparable profits and the operational performance was in line with management expectations.
A planned resort in Crete has generated “considerable additional interest” with discussions progressing with potential partners, investors and hotel operators.
Minoan chairman Christopher Egleton said: “The group has had a successful year in the travel business and has also made major progress with its project in Crete.
“Group trading for the financial year just ended was in line with management expectations.
“The travel division achieved profits during the period in excess of those achieved during the comparable prior year and the new financial year has started well, positioning us for further growth. We look forward to making continued progress across the group while we examine further acquisition opportunities.”
Chief executive Duncan Wilson said: “Adding an award-winning business such as Classic to our rapidly expanding travel portfolio significantly increases the range of travel services we offer, and enhances our presence in the business travel market, where Classic is particularly strong with its client list of multinational companies and organisations.
“Our golf division, which is trading very well, will also reap additional benefits from the acquisition of the full service Golf Concierge brand. This is in line with our strategy of offering attractive niche businesses as well as growing through larger acquisitions.
“Whilst we continue to pursue opportunities, we are delighted to be rolling out our first 50 travel kiosks across Sub Post Office stores.”
Classic managing director David Gillon said: “Classic Travel has had a very successful 30 years of trading and we are keener than ever to drive things forward and remain competitive in the demanding market place.
“The much-welcomed backing of the Minoan Group will provide us with the tools and support required to take the retail arm, the home-working division and our same-sex travel operation to the next level. The team are very much looking forward to the many opportunities which lie ahead.”