Sky’s the limit as tech travel business secures investment

Click Travel, the Birmingham-based business travel management company that lays claim to being Britain’s fastest growing, has secured a multi-million-pound investment from BGF.

The technology business, which had a turnover of £163.9m in the year to March 2017, uses a proprietary technology platform, travel.cloud, to provide the look, feel and usability of a consumer site alongside services that help businesses reduce the cost and complexity of business travel.

Jill Palmer, chief executive of Click Travel, said: “Click Travel has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to a great product and brilliant people. Our mission has always been to reduce the cost and complexity of travel management, which has enabled us to drive the expansion of the business.

“BGF’s long-term approach is the right fit for our business model and our future plans.”

The business was founded in 1999 by brothers Simon and James McLean, who are chief technology officer and chief financial officer respectively.

BGF backed Click Travel based on the company’s potential for further growth. The travel business’s place in Tech Nation’s Future Fifty, a government-backed programme for late-stage digital businesses that counts Deliveroo, AO and Skyscanner among its alumni, helped support its confidence in its future ambitions.

Mark Freer, an investor at BGF who will join the board of Click Travel, said: “Jill, Simon and James are a fantastic management team with a combination of deep market knowledge, creativity and professionalism.

“They have established a strong reputation across a loyal customer base and operate in a market with significant growth potential.”

The investment was led for BGF by Mark Freer, Aaron Baker, Will Copeland and Tim Rea.