Travel technology platform for entrepreneurs expands with latest acquisition

Travel Counsellors, the UK’s largest and fast-growing technology platform for travel entrepreneurs, has announced the strategic acquisition of the award-winning Planisto travel technology platform and its key development team for an undisclosed fee.

The integration of the Planisto platform will accelerate Travel Counsellors’ technology development plans and focus on the premium travel market by adding proven “market-leading” functionality that enables its Travel Counsellors to build highly complex travel itineraries and presenting these intuitively to consumers.

The acquisition is aligned with Travel Counsellors’ strategic focus on accelerating its technology leadership and strengthening its position as “the most powerful platform for travel entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and provide customers with outstanding, personalised travel experiences”.

As well as acquiring the Planisto platform and associated IP, the deal sees the creators behind the platform joining the Travel Counsellors community, further strengthening the company’s senior technology talent and team in the Benelux region.

The Planisto platform has been developed over several years by Belgian-headquartered B2B travel technology company, EURAM. The deal marks Vitruvian Partners-backed Travel Counsellors’ second acquisition in its near 30-year history following the successful deal to acquire Birmingham based Holidaysplease in March 2023.

The acquisition also builds on the company’s growth and strategic progress over recent periods highlighted by its record financial performance during the financial year ended 31 October 2023, when the company delivered annual bookings of £933m, an increase of 23 per cent on the prior year.

Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors, commented: “We are delighted to have acquired such a highly regarded, award-winning and highly complementary technology platform in Planisto, which has been on our radar for some time, as well as the hugely talented development team behind its success who share our culture and values.

“This acquisition is perfectly aligned with our culture of delivering unrivalled customer care as well as our strategic focus on developing our technology and offering to drive further growth in the premium-leisure segment of the market.

“In addition to strengthening our proprietary tech stack and talent, the deal will significantly accelerate our current technology development roadmap for Phenix, our end-to-end proprietary technology platform.

“It will further improve our end-customer booking experience whilst also strengthening our position in the Benelux region, where we have a fantastic and growing business and where the Planisto platform is highly regarded amongst the professional travel community.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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