Mobile agency group to expand FLT’s Australian leisure network.
Flight Centre has just announced the acquisition of Sydney-based Travel Partners, with FLT managing director Graham Turner saying the deal gives the company “a low risk and low cost entry to Australia’s home based agency sector”.
Founded by Jeff Hakim in in 2011, Travel Partners generated about $70 million in TTV during the 2017 financial year, with the business comprising a network of independently contracted home-based consultants/mobile agents, third party member agencies, and its own shops in Sydney, Newcastle and Taree.
Hakim and his team will continue to run the business from its base in the Sydney CBD, with Flight Centre to acquire 100% of the business for a confidential price. In addition to an up-front payment the deal includes additional performance-related payments for Hakim if the business achieves future growth targets.
Turner said in additional to delivering established revenue streams, the deal gives the company access to a new talent pool of highly experienced travel experts, greater flexibility and new career opportunities for existing Flight Centre staff, new distribution channels for in-house products, and greater efficiencies with a lower cost-base for the home-based or broker model.
The deal follows the acquisition earlier this week of NZ-based broker group Travel Managers – unrelated to the Australian TravelManagers business which was also founded by Hakim in 2005 prior to its 2007 sale to New Zealand’s House of Travel.
More details in Monday’s issue of Travel Daily.