Holidaybreak keeps an eye on costs
TRAVEL giant Holidaybreak expects to hit its targets for the year but said its emphasis is on managing costs and borrowings.
In a trading update for the year to September 30 the Cheshire-based group, which operates education, camping, adventure travel and hotel divisions, said tough trading meant it would focus on cash generation and cost control. Year-end net debt should come in at £130m.
But the group, which has its head office in Northwich, has begun to deploy the additional capital from a £33m rights issue in July.
Earlier this month it bought a 150-acre site at Liddington, Wiltshire for £9.5m. The site, formerly a hotel and conference centre, will open as a PGL outdoor education centre in 2010.
Executive chairman John Coleman said: “The financial year has progressed broadly as expected and we anticipate meeting management expectations for the full year. Later bookings, particularly in the camping division, have come through as expected.
“Education, our largest division, continues to perform well and we are pleased with our site at Windmill Hill, which opened for business in May. In Hotel Breaks, we are seeing continued signs of an improvement in booking volumes, albeit on lower average transaction values. The previously announced restructuring programme for the adventure travel division is progressing as planned.”
Like-for-like sales in the education division are up 7%, hotel break sales are down 2% and camping is up 2%. Adventure travel rose by 4% but the division is down by 20% on bookings for 2009-10. Holidaybreak anticipates conditions in the market will remain difficult for the year.
