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Simpson Travel on acquisition trail

After adding three companies to its roster in 2015, Simpson Travel wants to continue growing the business and expanding its destination portfolio.

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Simpson Travel: we'll buy more companies if the opportunity is right

Simpson Travel was on the acquisition trail last year and 69-year-old chairman Graham Simpson has said he is on the look out for further acquisitions should the right opportunities come along.

In December, Simpson bought two businesses - Dominique’s Villas, which features 120 properties across France, and Cottages to Castles, which features 220 properties in Italy.

The two brands will continue to operate independently within Simpson Travel but 45 of the French properties will create a dedicated French programme for Simpson Travel for 2016.

Simpson Travel also acquired the assets of Exclusive Escapes last June following the collapse of the Turkey specialist.

“It’s hard work buying and integrating companies and of course takes considerable time, but we do want to expand further once these have bedded in and would look at opportunities to take on small specialists in key areas of interest,” Simpson said, with a Croatia specialist possibly particularly appealing.

“There are more owner-managed businesses out there that could be interesting – ones where the owner is looking at how to negotiate the future and figuring out their place in a competitive market, or is perhaps looking for an exit strategy that preserves the integrity of what they have built up,” he said. “I’m happy to talk to owners who think along the same lines as us.”

Simpson Travel previously had a portfolio of Turkey, Greece, Corsica and Majorca but Simpson said the most recent acquisitions represented an opportunity he couldn’t miss.

He said: “With the world the way it is, we felt it would be a good time to diversify the portfolio and France and Italy are so immensely popular with our existing clients – those two destinations topped the list of places they would like to see us operate.”

He said the issues in Greece and Turkey had naturally had an impact on customer confidence last year but hopefully only a short-term one.

“I think people are very pragmatic – they try to get a realistic view of the situation and plan for their holiday accordingly; people can’t live without their holiday these days,” he said.

“When it comes to Turkey, I’d say we are probably the leading specialist there now and I’ve always had a firm belief in it as a destination since I starting operating there back in 1982. The service there is great, so open and friendly, and the accommodation really evolves to fit what the market is looking for."

Family planning

Multi-generation family bookings form a key part of business now, Simpson added. “Parents are definitely spending more on taking their children and grandkids away, much more so than say 20 years ago – I’d say this makes up our core business these days,” he said.

Simpson said there were still plenty of opportunities for him, despite nearly reaching 70, including a dream of running or funding his own theatre company. He went to drama school and was an actor for many years – including roles on the BBC - before starting in travel.

“You name it - I’ve done every job possible, from dolphin trainer to cleaner and working in the National Theatre when I was a jobbing actor waiting for roles. But at some point, you have to realise you need a steady income to raise a family and that’s what happened to me – I gave up drama and we started the travel business,” he said. “At 69 I still have a very positive attitude I think.”

He made a fortune selling his first major tour operator Simply Travel - which he developed with wife Yianna - to Thomson back in 1999.

He followed this with a six-year spell as chairman of Watford Football Club and also started Simpson Travel in 2002 when several members of his old team from Simply approached him to set it up.

He kept his distance from the business initially but then became more involved as managing director for several years before retiring that role in 2010. Today, he is happy playing the role of chairman of Simpson Travel, with his sons also very active in the business as product director and financial director.

Trade changes

Trade changes

He says there are fewer specialists than there were in the 1990s at the height of Simply Travel’s days.

“It seems those that are around don’t seem to aspire to grow that hard, but we are growing and developing all the time, including investing in a new mobile-friendly website that should be ready in the next six months.

“Only 10% of bookings come via online at the moment, but the new site will be easier to book – it will appeal to a younger demographic, the 30-40-year-olds who want to be able to access and book efficiently. It will also be more rich in content.”

There are also moves afoot to entice more agents on board.

“We should embrace the brilliant quality agents out there,” Simpson said. “We don’t want tons of them, but where I am keen is to look to agents to work with us on filling shoulder seasons and that’s when they can earn higher commission.”

Simpson Travel has a two-tiered commission system that effectively rewards agents with 10% commission when booking holidays for the lower periods and just 5% at the peaks. Some agents have criticized the system, but Simpson defended it: “To be really honest, the best places sell out in the height of summer anyway – it is the quieter times when we need the help and that’s when we’re prepared to pay agents the higher percentage.”

Commercial manager Alison Scott added that trade sales were currently around 10% of business, but that she hoped this could rise to 15%.

“We are very keen to build long-term relationships with independent travel agents moving forward,” Scott said. “Our two-tier system recognises the most loyal and regular agents who give us a spread of bookings over the full season and other travel benefits we offer include a reward holiday for hitting targets.”

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