FLIGHT Centre Travel Group (FCTG) will expand the holiday packages business model of Ignite Travel to the UK market following the all-cash acquisition of Cruise Club UK (CW breaking news).
Ignite Travel is one of the fastest growing brands in the FCTG stable, generating TTV of more than $500 million in the first half of the 2024 financial year so far across three operating divisions – a 20% year-on-year improvement.
FCTG will roll out Ignite’s business model to Cruise Club UK, adopting a structure similar to MyCruises, My Holiday Centre and the Holiday Exclusives B2B white-label division which now provides value-add holiday packages to global supermarket giant Aldi (CW 02 Oct 2024).
Flight Centre Leisure CEO James Kavanagh said the acquisition was aligned with the company’s objective of increasing margins through cruise and tour sales, scaling its brands and growing to become a dominant player in the UK leisure holiday market.
“As we look to increase cruise sales and expand Ignite’s offering internationally, we are excited by the potential in the UK and the parallels in Australia, where the Ignite model and MyCruises have proven so successful.
“Already, we have seen strong support from suppliers, who are keen to work with us to grow this sector, and from potential customers who responded strongly to a MyCruises-style offer that Cruise Club recently trialled,” Kanavagh added.
Cruise Club UK’s founder Paul Edge Snr and son Paul Edge Jnr will continue with the business through the integration, while Ignite founder Randall Deer will become Managing Director of Cruise Club UK.
The Manchester-based company employs around 35 people and turned over around 20 million in retail cruise sales during FY24.
FCTG’s purchase of Cruise Club UK follows the resurrection of its Cruiseabout brand and entry into wholesaling with CruiseHQ. ML