Winter bookings plunge at TUI
WINTER bookings at Tui fell 89% compared with a year ago as a result of the extended travel restrictions across Europe during November and December, the company has said.
Bosses are hopeful that holidaymakers will return for the peak summer season, with 2.8 million bookings already made for later in the year and the travel agent confirming plans to operate at 80% capacity.
Average daily bookings in January are up 70% compared with December, although Tui said it expects a peak booking period is still on its way.
Holidaymakers are expected to wait to see if Covid-19 vaccination programmes are successful, leading to bookings for the summer – including amendments and voucher rebookings, down 44% compared with summer 2019.
The company added that there will be “significant upside anticipated” should restrictions lift in time for Easter.
The details came as bosses revealed that revenues in the three months to the end of 2020 fell from 3.86 billion euros (£3.39 billion) to just 468.1 million euros (£410 million) – a drop of 87.8%.
Tui also revealed that it completed a third fundraiser, including tapping up shareholders in a rights issue, to the tune of 1.8 billion euros (£1.58 billion). The money will bridge the gap until the summer, when bosses hope holidays will return.
The company added that 116 hotels were open at the end of the year, compared with 229 at the same point a year ago. Holidaymakers who did decide to travel headed to Greece and the Caribbean, but other winter destinations including the
Canaries and Maldives struggled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Tui’s cruise business operated five ships, making it the only European operator to continuously sail throughout the winter months, the company added.
The company said: “Our focus on the end-to-end delivery of safe holidays already resulted in the successful partial recommencement of operations during summer 2020.
“Destinations have recognised this strength of Tui’s, as the governments of Greece and the Balearics selected Tui to implement pilot programmes in summer 2020 aimed at restarting tourism in their regions.
The governments of Greece and the Balearics selected Tui to implement pilot programmes in summer 2020 aimed at restarting tourism in their regions TUI
“Our strong customer base and scale gives us an advantage in terms of brand awareness and distribution, securing attractive terms from suppliers, and in gaining greater insight into customer behaviour.
“In addition, selling into a range of source markets helps to diversify our customer base, meaning we are not reliant on a single market.”
FASHION chain Joules has expanded its garden retail operations with the £12.5 million takeover of Garden Trading.
Shares in Joules jumped after the Leicestershire-based retailer revealed the acquisition of the home and garden product business.
Garden Trading designs furniture and other products which it sells through its digital platform direct to customers and through more than 1,000 stockists across the UK.
Joules said that Garden Trading has been a leading seller on its Friends of Joules online marketplace since it was launched in 2019.
It told investors that the move supports Joules’ strategy to grow its customer base and will strengthen its position in the fast-growing home, garden and outdoor category. The company also said that it plans to use Garden Trading’s design and sourcing strengths to develop a broader range of Joulesbranded home, garden and outdoor products.
Garden Trading grew revenues by more than 40% to £16.8 million for the year to November 30, with a pre-tax profit of £2 million.
Nick Jones, chief executive officer at Joules, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Garden Trading, which is a fast-growing and highly complementary brand to Joules in the attractive home, garden and outdoor category.
“The Garden Trading brand shares similar design-led principles to Joules and, as has been demonstrated through its stand-out popularity on the Friends of Joules digital marketplace over the past 15 months, is highly relevant to our customers and their lifestyles. Garden Trading has a fantastic team and culture, which is closely aligned to Joules’.”
Jon Holloway, founder of Garden Trading, said: “We are delighted to be joining Joules, which is a business and brand I have long admired. Since we started selling through the Friends of Joules digital marketplace more than a year ago it has become increasingly clear how well our products and brand resonate with the Joules customer base.”
Shares in Joules were 7.5% higher at 172.1p in early trading.