The company is 20 years old this year. It made a £3m profit on sales of £72m in its last FY. At its launch, the business incurred start-up costs of £100, which was spent on a mailshot and marketing plan.
Gerry Pack, founder of Holiday Extras, had been working for Saga for fourteen years when he discovered a ‘win-win-win’ opportunity distributing airport hotel rooms.
The business started off by sharing office space, staff and the telephone lines with a friend’s publishing company. Pack called his company Apple Booking Company.
He admits to one mistake along the way, which admittedly cost him £1m. He bought a company specialising in truck tours to Africa but couldnlt compete with the other operators. ‘I learnt that one business model doesn’t necessarily fit all businesses,’ he said.

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