Club Travel sees sales surge more than six fold as aviation rebounds

Club Travel, which holds the contract to act as the Government’s travel agent, is on course to record more than a six-fold increase in revenues this year to “just over €150 million” with leisure business rebounding as the pandemic ebbs.

Leisure business at Club Travel increased 400 per cent on last year, company director Colman Burke said, with the travel firm’s corporate business up 570 per cent on 2021.

“We are generally very happy with this year’s performance and recovery, which is well ahead of all industry forecasts,” Mr Burke said.

New accounts show Club Travel Holdings Ltd last year took a €44.7 million hit to revenues due to the pandemic, plunging to €23.12 million for the 12 months to the end of October. Even so, the business posted pretax profits of €1.09 million.

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The return to profit was chiefly as a result of combined State Covid support payments of €4.19 million, booked as “other operating income” in the group’s accounts. On this year’s performance, Mr Burke said that the firm’s leisure travel recovery “has been very strong since Easter ... we expect to end the year in line or slightly up on full-year 2019 revenue”.

Corporate business revenue this year is about 70 per cent of 2019 revenues, which he said is in line with overall corporate travel recovery.

“Managing the sharp increase in volume since Easter has been challenging; however, we took a decision early on to retain all staff and not make any redundancies during Covid, which left us in a reasonably good position,” Mr Burke added. He confirmed the company has been reappointed as the Government’s travel agent. The new contract is for two years from August 1st after the business went out to tender earlier this year.

The accounts disclose that the business sustained a €346,205 impairment on a lease on a Dublin property at Foster House, Burgh Quay it surrendered for €1 in August of last year.

Numbers employed totalled 160 and staff costs were €5.2 million including “staff compensation for loss of office” of €102,766.

The group’s shareholder funds at the end of October last were €58.8 million, with cash funds of €60.2 million.