24th Oct 2007 07:00
Travelzest plc24 October 2007 Date: 24 October 2007 On behalf of: Travelzest plc ("Travelzest" or the "Group") Embargoed until: 0700hrs Travelzest plc Pre-close trading update Travelzest plc, the online travel group offering specialist travel programmes,today reports on trading prior to entering the closed period in respect of itspreliminary results for the year ended 31 October 2007. The Board of Travelzest is pleased with the progress the Group has made duringthe year and anticipates that trading for the year will be in line with itsexpectations. The outlook for next year remains positive. Canadian on-line distribution At the half year stage we stated that we were very pleased with the excellentperformance of our largest business itravel2000, and that its sales were up 17%year-on-year. This trend has continued and we have seen a similar performancein the second half of the year. itravel2000 is well placed going in to the peakWinter selling season having successfully marketed the company through its "Letit Snow" campaign during the Summer. UK tour operations On 1 November 2006 Travelzest had four tour operators within the Group; VFBHolidays (a French and river cruise specialist), Best of Morocco, Peng Travel(the leading UK naturist holiday company) and farawayholidays.co.uk (specialistin tours of the Far East). VFB has continued to improve following its recordperformance last year. Best of Morocco had a particularly strong first half ofthe year, which is its key selling season and is well positioned for the 2007/2008 Winter season. Peng Travel has also enjoyed strong sales from its veryloyal customers during the year and following the introduction of a new websiteis 11% up for the 2007/2008 Winter season. Lastly, farawayholidays.co.uk, whichwas launched in August 2006, has had a challenging year as it establishes itselfwithin the on-line Far East and exotic holiday market. A number of steps weretaken during the Summer to re-focus the business on four destinations, which hasresulted in an increase in sales and margin, and bodes well for an improvedperformance in 2008. UK on-line agency distribution Fair's Fare has had a solid year following its acquisition in June 2006. We arepleased to have recently signed a number of new contracts, which should lead tofurther growth in 2008. We took the decision to launch flight.co.uk with newtechnology during the financial year and we have been pleased with thisdevelopment although a contribution is yet to be achieved. It is our intentionto use this technology to provide flights for holiday.co.uk and our UK touroperators. The development of holiday.co.uk has continued throughout 2007 andas such is not yet complete. We believe this will lead to a positivecontribution in 2009, following completion of this project in 2008. Acquisitions During 2007 we acquired Tapestry Collection, Wow House, Captivating Cuba and JMBTravel. As previously indicated these acquisitions will, overall, negativelyimpact the year principally due to the seasonality of Captivating Cuba'sprofits. However, Tapestry Collection will provide a positive contribution and,following the implementation of action plans by Travelzest management, we expecta positive contribution for these businesses in 2008. Commenting on the outlook, Chris Mottershead, Travelzest's Chief Executive,said: "Due to the progress made in 2007 I am very pleased that Travelzest hasestablished itself as the prominent on-line specialist travel company. We haveseen strong performances from the businesses we acquired in 2006 and combinedwith the improvements we expect to come from the new websites, holiday.co.uk andflight.co.uk, and the additional profits to be generated by the 2007acquisitions, we are well positioned for long term sustainable performance andgrowth." Enquiries: Christopher MottersheadTravelzest plc 01442 874 322 Emma Kane / Samantha Robbins / Anna DunkinRedleaf Communications Limited 020 7822 0200 Notes to Editors The Group currently comprises: itravel2000.com itravel2000.com was founded in 1994 and is an online travel agent specialisingin the sale of travel and travel related products. Sales are made throughvarious internet web sites and a customer call centre located in Mississauga,Ontario. The greater proportion of itravel2000.com's business is winter-based,thus providing counter-seasonal revenue to the predominantly summer-basedrevenues of Travelzest's businesses in Europe. www.itravel2000.com Holiday Express Holiday Express is one of the UK's leading on-line travel businesses. Itspecialises in both on-line travel fulfillment services and online travel sales.Holiday Express' retail business (acting as travel agent), provides packageholidays, charter flights and ski booking services, accounts for the vastmajority of its revenue and the remainder of its revenue is generated throughacting as a tour operator. Holiday Express owns a number of travel websitedomain names, including: - www.holiday.co.uk - www.flight.co.uk Fair's Fare Fair's Fare was established in 1995 and is the UK's leading firm of airfareanalysts, offering a unique travel planning service to both private and businessclients. The company seeks out the very best financial options, on all majorairlines, but primarily for long-haul travellers in the first and business classcabins of the world's leading airlines. VFB Holidays VFB Holidays is a long established, award winning tour operator, which providedholidays for approximately 24,000 passengers in its last financial year. VFB iscurrently contracted with the owners of approximately 350 holiday cottagesthroughout France for the summer season, and has booking arrangements with over150 hotels, most of which are privately owned and are located in rural orsemi-rural locations. VFB specialises in cottage holidays in France, but alsohas a number of other holiday programmes including: France a la Carte (hotelaccommodation), Corsica, Short Breaks, Escorted Tours and River Cruises. www.vfbholidays.com Best of Morocco Best of Morocco is a tour operator specialising in high quality, tailor-madeholidays to Morocco for individuals or small groups. It provides apersonalised service and it's highly experienced and knowledgeable staff helpeach customer select the hotels / resorts from their large range which areappropriate for the customer's desired style of holiday. Best of Morocco is thepremier agent for the Marathon des Sables, a foot race that takes place inMorocco in April each year, covering some 230km. Best of Morocco provides thelargest contingent of runners for the race each year. www.bestofmorocco.co.uk Peng Travel Peng Travel was formed in 1971 to arrange naturist holidays for the UK market.Since then, it has grown to become Britain's biggest naturist tour operator. Ithas unrivalled experience of naturist areas worldwide and has selected only thebest. The range of naturist holidays offered is unmatched by any other Britishtour operator. www.pengtravel.co.uk Faraway Holidays Faraway Holidays was launched by Travelzest in August 2006. It offerstailor-made holidays to many of the world's top exotic destinations in the FarEast, Middle East, Indian Ocean, South Pacific and South America. Everydestination offered by Faraway Holidays will have been visited by at least onemember of the sales team, ensuring that customers receive informed andknowledgeable advice when planning their holiday. www.farawayholidays.co.uk Tapestry Collection Travelzest acquired the assets of Tapestry Holidays and has launched arevitalised brand consisting of the very best of the Tapestry range. TheTapestry Collection will initially showcase the very best of Turkey and Cretefeaturing many of the most popular hotels, apartments and villas, together withsome exciting new properties. www.thetapestrycollection.com The Wow House Company Wow House Limited, trading as The Wow House Company, is a specialist UKaccommodation provider offering an exclusive portfolio of large, prestigioushouses to rent for short breaks in the UK. The company also offers acomprehensive event planning service. www.thewowhousecompany.co.uk Captivating Cuba Captivating Cuba is a tour operator specialising in quality tailor made holidaysto Cuba. It's highly experienced team provide customers with the very bestadvice regarding how to get the most from their visit to the largest Caribbeanisland. www.captivatingcuba.com JMB Travel JMB Travel Consultants Limited is a leading UK specialist in opera holidaysoffering an extensive range of destinations noted for their operas and musicfestivals. It has unrivalled experience in catering for the particular needs ofthe opera and music lover and has connections with every major opera house andmusic festival in Europe and a small section of North America.www.jmb-travel.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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