Sales treble at fast-growing Cruise 118

SALES at fast-growing Lancashire holiday business Cruise 118 have topped £15m just two years after it was set up.

The Chorley-based company, which sells cruise holidays, saw revenues in the year to May treble thanks in part to last year’s agreement with Chester-based Moneysupermarket.com to power its travel business’s cruise pages.

Co-founder James Cole told TheBusinessDesk.com the growth also reflected the launch of new cruise brands such as Alaska Only and Six Star, as well as the greater stability of the firm’s second year.

Accounts have not yet been filed and Mr Cole declined to disclose the company’s pre-tax profit figure, saying earnings had reached six figures.

Since the company’s year-end it has struck a partnership deal with US-based cruise holiday distribrutor World Travel Holdings which is expected to fuel further growth.

The company is aiming to become one of the largest cruise retailers within the next three to five years. It is a competitive market, but one that is growing rapidly, said Mr Cole.

“In 1995 250,000 people took cruises, but this year there were 1.65 million and it’s forecast to double in the next 10 years. It’s largely down to the size of the ships that are being built. What’s attractive to the consumer is the all-inclusive nature of a cruise and the fantastic standard on the ships.”

World Travel Holdings has taken a minority stake in the business, for an undisclosed sum, and this investment has enabled the firm to expand its operation in Chorley where it now has 50 staff.

Mr Cole and his business parter Mal Barritt were previously executives at Manchester-based MyTravel which merged with Thomas Cook in 2008.