Annual profits at Travel Counsellors soared by 64% to almost £33 million last year, with momentum continuing into the current financial year.
The homeworking agency group saw total transaction value (TTV) rise by 31% to £941.6 million in the 12 months to October 31, 2023.
Revenue was up by 31% over the previous 12 months to £456.6 million in line with the increase in TTV as both Travel Counsellors’ B2C and corporate businesses delivered record results.
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More than 79% of sales were made in the premium-leisure focused B2C business, while corporate TTV increased to £215 million.
The acquisition of Holidaysplease helped bring 300 new agents to the company.
The current financial year has seen TTV increasing 14% in the first half with 148 more joining, taking numbers up to more than 2,000 franchisees.
The top-selling destinations in the six months to April 30 included ‘experiential’ destinations such as Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka alongside long-standing favourites such as the Middle East, Indian Ocean, US and Mediterranean as well as cruises.
Travel Counsellors’ business owners are using improved functionality following the January acquisition of tech platform Planisto to build highly complex travel itineraries and present these intuitively to consumers, according to the group.
Chief executive Steve Byrne said: “FY23 was another record year for Travel Counsellors as we delivered significant profitable growth and strategic progress across the business.
“This positive outcome is once again a firm demonstration of the strength of our differentiated strategy and was underpinned by the record number of customers who trusted Travel Counsellors with their leisure and corporate travel needs.
“Our strong momentum has continued into the first six months of the current financial year with strong further double digit TTV growth.”
He added: “The dedication and relentless customer focus of our community, which comprises both our own employed support team and our growing network of more than 2,000 Travel Counsellors, in combination with the strengths of our asset-light business model, has enabled the company to further capitalise on the continued growth in the global travel market.
“I am delighted that despite our transformational growth trajectory in recent years we have maintained our five-star Trustpilot rating. This is a strong testament to our customer-first culture that runs through everything we do as well as the investments we continue to make in our outstanding technology platform that is central to the world-class service delivered by our growing network of travel counsellors.
“I am extremely confident that underpinned by continuous investment in developing our proprietary technology we are exceptionally well placed to further build on our significant growth over the coming years. We are focused on continuing to disrupt the travel market through superb, personalised service and our scalable, relevant, and differentiated business model.”