Traveltek targets ‘major global expansion’ with £5.3 million funding boost

Booking system Traveltek has secured £5.3 million in funding which it hopes will finance a “major global expansion”. Traveltek, which provides travel retailers, agents and wholesalers with the technology to sell an extensive range of hotels, flights, cruises and ancillary travel services, has got the money from private equity fund manager YFM Equity Partners. … Continue reading Traveltek targets ‘major global expansion’ with £5.3 million funding boost

Booking system Traveltek has secured £5.3 million in funding which it hopes will finance a “major global expansion”.

Traveltek, which provides travel retailers, agents and wholesalers with the technology to sell an extensive range of hotels, flights, cruises and ancillary travel services, has got the money from private equity fund manager YFM Equity Partners.

It has already grown from a start-up in 2002 to employing nearly 100 staff and turning over £4.3 million

Traveltek processes millions of lines of data every day and clients include Hay’s Travel, Trailfinders, Co-operative Travel, the Flight Centre, Emirates, Barrhead Travel, dnata, Imagine Cruising and World Travel Holdings UK.

The new investment will fund an expansion of the international office network from four to 12 offices and increase staff numbers from 100 to around 200 over the next three years including new sites in Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Dubai already lined-up to add to existing offices in Miami, Sydney and Hyderabad in India.

There will also be a “significant” investment in the development of the next generation of bookings software technology, systems and processes while former chief executive of Maxima holdings plc in Glasgow, Kelvin Harrison has been appointed chairman of the board.

Traveltek group managing director Kenny Picken said: “The business is already in a strong position as the booking systems supplier of choice for many of the major travel trade businesses.  We can now leverage that position and develop Traveltek into a major global technology business and invest in the latest technology, new infrastructure, business systems, business development and new talent.

“We had excellent advice from Campbell Dallas Corporate Finance, our advisors in the deal and huge support from our lawyers Bellwether Green where both firms worked extremely hard in the process.”

Nigel Owens, investment director at YFM added: “Traveltek is the only fully integrated, technology focussed packaging solution for travel agents and travel operators in the world. We have been impressed by management’s commitment to fully understand its customers’ business and create market leading tailored solutions.

“The development of the international office network and Traveltek’s growth in sales is testament to the proposition and the existing management team we are backing.”