Travel Perk snaps up business travel firm Click Travel
Business travel firm Travel Perk has this morning snapped up Click Travel, which handles £300m worth of travel for around 2,000 clients.
It is the third and largest acquisition that Travel Perk has made since the Baupost Group-backed firm was founded in 2015.
It said that the deal would establish the firm as the leading travel management platform for the global small business market, and enhance its UK-leading position.
Under the deal, all 150 of Click Travel’s staff, who are based in Birmingham, will join Travel Perk.
The acquisition comes amid a widespread downturn in business travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Most airlines and sector experts expect business travel to be the last element of the travel jigsaw to return when restrictions are lifted.
But many have warned that the successful adoption of technologies such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams during the pandemic means that corporate travel is unlikely to return on the same scale as before.
Despite the pessimism, Travel Perk chief executive Avi Meir painted a brighter picture. “There is no doubt that the business travel market is on track for a full recovery after the disruption of the last year”, he said.
“The meetings that matter will always happen in person and we are already seeing plenty of green shoots in our key markets.
“We’re really excited to welcome Click Travel’s fantastic and talented team to TravelPerk to build long term growth and to significantly expand our on-the-ground team in the UK.
James McLean, chief executive of Click Travel added: “Click Travel and TravelPerk share the same mission: to reduce the cost and complexity of business travel for everyone involved by offering the best inventory and technology and delighting our customers with superb customer service throughout.
“Those shared objectives, combined with the natural cultural fit between our two companies, means we are incredibly excited to bring our teams together.”