UK holiday specialist Caledonian Leisure Ltd says it has outperformed its first-year business plan projections thanks to agency support and demand for post-lockdown holidays.
Its brands, Caledonian Travel and UKBreakaways.com, were part of Shearings and National Holidays’ parent company Specialist Leisure Group, which went into administration in May 2020.
Earlier this year, the firm secured a multimillion-pound investment from Mobeus to accelerate its growth.
It has expanded from its Scottish heartland into northern England with new departure points throughout the northeast and Yorkshire.
Caledonian Travel has also strengthened its retail presence in key departure areas, opening travel centres in Glasgow, Middlesbrough and Wakefield.
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Graham Rogers, managing director, said: “Both Caledonian Travel and UKBreakaways.com have enjoyed very high volumes of sales.
“Since government restrictions were lifted, we’ve been incredibly impressed by the level of bookings, with many customers booking multiple breaks to make up for lost time.
“Performing well above our business plan in our first year provides us with a solid base and the confidence to accelerate our growth plans.”
The company said Caledonian’s strong performance has been buoyed by “large volumes” of sales driven by relationships with agents.
Martin Lock, commercial director, commented: “The travel trade has supported us from day one, and we have run many joint agent promotions to date with mutual success.
“We’ve invested a lot of time and effort into forging relationships with agents who understand the UK short breaks market and creating a model that works for both parties.
“We’ve received excellent feedback so far about our sales support, with many agents commenting on the quality of our communication plus the approachability and accessibility of our team.”
Caledonian Leisure Ltd is headed by non-executive Chairman Gary Speakman, managing director Graham Rogers and commercial director Martin Lock.
Product director Carl Brackenbury, finance director David McDonald and IT and digital director Mark Williams are the remaining founding shareholders.
From left: managing director Graham Rogers; IT and digital director Mark Williams; commercial director Martin Lock; finance director David McDonald; and product director Carl Brackenbury.