Holiday specialist Caledonian Leisure reports that it recorded an annual turnover of over £55 million for 2023, up 40% from the previous year’s £40m, with investment in new travel centres, hotel partnerships and IT infrastructure laying the foundations for further growth. Since launching in June 2021 the company, which operates under the Caledonian Travel and UKBreakaways brands, has quickly established itself in the short breaks and holidays sector, and now employs over 100 members of staff. The firm expects to carry its one millionth customer later this summer.
Managing Director Graham Rogers said: “We are delighted to share another year of strong financial results for 2023 and have ambitious plans to build on this going forward as we continue to develop our product portfolio, infrastructure and commercial partnerships. The key to our success is putting our customers at the heart of our strategy and it is particularly satisfying to see the positive feedback we receive from our customers, with many focusing on the exceptional value of our breaks and the customer service they receive from our team.”
Earlier this year, the company strengthened Caledonian Travel’s presence in Scotland with the acquisition of Glasgow-based operator Tartan Travel and announced new departure points in Edinburgh and the East of Scotland. Further expansion of its network of regional travel centres has also been a key priority, the firm says, with new centres in high footfall central locations in Leeds and Newcastle taking the total number of travel centres in key locations to seven.
The company has also moved into the hotel sector with the launch of The Caledonian Collection, a range of branded hotels in some of its best-selling UK holiday resorts. It has also continued to expand its product portfolio across the UK, Ireland and Europe with event packages to sport events including the British F1 Grand Prix, The Grand National and Cheltenham Festival.
Commercial Director Martin Lock says: “Sustaining a steady rate of growth across our brands is great news and we are encouraged by recent research which shows that over 50% of our customers intend to travel more with us over the next 12 months. Gaining customer loyalty is essential in the travel industry, and our network of agents play a key role in delivering our award-winning service and experience to customers. We thank them for their support and look forward to working closely with new and existing partners going forward.”
Finance Director David McDonald added: “The business is in a very robust position at the moment, and we’re confident that the investments we have made this year will further accelerate our growth.
The satisfaction of our customers is always our main focus, and it is for this reason we have retained ABTOT protection for our customers in order to provide still further security alongside our trust account. We’re very excited for what the next 12 months has in store.”