Opodo
has today announced the acquisition of Quest Travel, part of United Co-operatives Travel Group, for approximately £1.2 million in cash.  Quest Travel is one of the UK’s leading independent long haul travel specialists with extensive knowledge of Australia, New Zealand, The South Pacific and Asia.  It has recently expanded its portfolio to include South Africa, North America and the Caribbean. With a highly qualified team of travel experts, Quest Travel ensures that each and every one of the 30,000 customers they serve throughout the year enjoys the highest level of customer service.

Quest Travel is the first step in Opodo’s acquisition strategy, as it pursues its goal of becoming one of the top three European online travel agencies.

“Opodo is already a leader in European online travel and is particularly strong in flight sales and the short haul market.  Quest Travel will complement our existing portfolio of products and enable us to provide our customers with a unique range of holiday offers to key long haul destinations.” said Simon Vincent, CEO of Opodo. “With the acquisition of Quest Travel we are obtaining a well-respected brand and a team of highly professional travel experts, who we look forward to working with in building on their excellent achievements to date.”

Mike Greenacre, General Manager of United Co-operatives Travel Group commented, “United Co-operatives Travel Group is one of the most diverse travel agency businesses in the UK with an excellent range of channels to market, including High Street branches, Europe’s largest travel home working operation, call centres and a developing internet presence.  Within our business, Quest was unusual in being a tour operator rather than an additional distribution channel.  Having reviewed our plans for the future, we concluded that the best way for Quest to develop its potential was as part of a larger tour operator business which was already well-placed in the market and Opodo fits that bill perfectly.”

Dave Simmons Managing Director Quest added,  “Opodo has access to significant numbers of customers who want the type of product that Quest has to offer. This is an excellent opportunity for Quest Travel to achieve rapid growth amongst both our core destinations and potentially new markets”.

Quest Travel will continue to be run as a stand-alone business.
——-