Holidaybreak sees sales slip

CAMPING to school trips specialist Holidaybreak has seen first quarter sales slip 3% but expects to hit full-year targets.

In an interim management statement covering October 1 to February 12 the Cheshire company, which operates its Hotel Breaks division from York, said sales were down because customers are booking holidays later.

The figures were also affected by the closure of airports due to snow and civil unrest in Egypt.

Holidaybreak, owner of the Eurocamp, Keycamp and PGL brands, said its education and adventure division, which accounted for half of revenue last year had already taken 77% of bookings and 12% for 2012. Its PGL education centres are nearly fully booked.

Hotel Breaks, responsible for 30% of sales in 2010, is down 9%. Management said the division had been affected by the bad weather and the loss of airport hotel contracts with large retail travel agents.

Chief executive Martin Davies said: “Overall, the group has performed creditably. Sales intake is currently 3% down compared with last year as we experience a trend towards later bookings in each of our businesses.

“The group continues to display strong sales visibility with 61% of target group revenue already booked for the year and we expect to perform in line with management expectations for the year ending 30 September 2011.

“I am excited about the growth plans for our new investment, Meininger, and the potential to expand our educational offering to new markets as we look to become the leading educational travel provider in Europe.”

York-based Hotel Breaks provides domestic and overseas short-break holidays primarily for UK and Dutch consumers. Its leading brands include Superbreak, based in the UK, and Bookit, based in the Netherlands.