Independent holiday group Hays Travel has seen profits jump 43% as its marks the fifth anniversary of its acquisition of rival Thomas Cook’s retail estate.
The Sunderland company has published accounts for the year ended April 30, 2024 showing total transaction value rise 17% to £2.5bn, while turnover was £457m, an increase of 8%. Group pre-tax profits increased 43% to top £73m and operating profit rose 31% to £60.4m – results which the firm said exceeded expectations and were driven by the increasing consumer confidence in travel.
While world events and supplier changes have previously resulted in significant cancellations, last year saw customers travel more often and further afield, the firm said. A report signed off by the board said: “The group has delivered on its plans for growth in all areas. Our independence group continues to attract new members, turnover in our homeworking division has increased over 31%, and foreign exchange achieved turnover of £24.8m (2023: £21.5m) in the year as a result of customer departures increasing.
“The group continues to have a committed and loyal work force and the company continues to provide outstanding training and development and supports a significant number of apprentices and graduates - more than 700 in the current year. The group successfully attracts new customers and 37% of customers were new to Hays Travel and the previously acquired Thomas Cook shops. This is attributed to the commitment to continued customer service excellence, the latent demand for holidays, as well as customers seeking the reassurance and expertise that comes with booking through an agent.”
During the year the firm invested £14.8m into its retail refurbishment programme, new Unified Business Platform technology and other objectives. It also made three acquisitions – three Holiday With Us branches in Lincolnshire, and 19 Miles Morgan Travel shops in the south west and south Wales – which added 67 shops to its retail estate. Employee numbers rose significantly as a result, from 3,197 to 3,535.
The additions follow the acquisition of Explorer Franchise in 2021; Just Go’s 45 North West branches and Travel House’s 16 shops in south Wales in 2023. Hays Travel’s annual accounts mark five years since the firm swooped for Thomas Cook entire retail portfolio of 555 shops, which saw it set out to re-employ up to 2,500 of its people who had previously faced redundancy.
Overnight, Hays Travel more than trebled its retail estate, growing from 190 shops, mainly in the north of England, to 745 all over the Ƶ. It was a move the One Show suggested was either “bold, brave, or bonkers”, and catapulted the company into the spotlight as a household name.
Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel: “We were all devastated by the Thomas Cook news, there were so many excellent people at Thomas Cook and John and I knew we wanted to help. We initially looked at a few branches, then decided it was tactically better to bid for them all, which we did on 8 October. A day later we were awarded a licence to operate the entire Thomas Cook retail estate.”
The pandemic that followed 14 weeks later was a challenging time, with no one able to travel. Hays Travel made good on its commitment to ensure customers received refunds on bookings - a move which saw it tumble from £4.9m profit in October 2019 to £34.2m loss in April 2021.
Dame Irene Hays: “No one could have predicted a global pandemic when we took on Thomas Cook, but even with hindsight I would do it all again. It’s thanks to the effort and resilience of our Hays Travel colleagues and the many colleagues who joined us from Thomas Cook that we were able to care for our customers during lockdown, and were here to help them travel again, as soon as the restrictions were lifted.
“Over the last five years, as we have adapted and continued to grow, I am proud that we have remained true to our vision and values, and our strategic priorities: our people, our customers, and the communities where we operate.”
