TRT
TRT
Tourvest acquires Cumming to expand retail travel footprint
Tourism Investment Corporation Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1996/008144/06)
Share code: TRT
ISIN: ZAE000012472
TOURVEST ACQUIRES CUMMING TO EXPAND RETAIL TRAVEL FOOTPRINT
Johannesburg, 20 February - Tourvest has acquired Cumming Travel in line with
its strategy of continuing to expand and strengthen its presence in the retail
travel market.
Cumming Travel joins Tourvest Retail Travel"s (TRT) other businesses which
consist of American Express Travel Services, The Seekers Travel Group, the
recently established black-owned agency Lesedi Travel, AATB, Maties Travel and
Indojet Travel. The acquisition of Cumming has cemented TRT"s position as the
leader in the corporate sector of the market where it now provides services to
more than half of South Africa"s Top 100 companies.
It will operate under the Lesedi brand as Lesedi Cumming Travel in order to grow
that business into a formidable black empowered enterprise, which already far
exceeds the Tourism Charter"s targets for 2009 and 2014.
Tourvest Outbound Travel Services managing director Jonathan Gerber said Cumming
was a long-established and well-respected travel management company, with an
impressive client portfolio and a particularly strong focus on the group,
corporate and incentive travel business. Like earlier acquisitions such as
AATB, Maties and Indojet, it would reinforce TRT"s hold on a market sector
while, at the same time, enabling the group to further improve its margins and
reduce costs to its customers through the bulk purchasing and preferential
agreements it can negotiate by virtue of its increased size.
Gerber said the Cummings brand and management would be retained but the business
would now have the benefit of TRT"s substantial back-office resources and buying
power.
Managing director of Lesedi Cumming Travel Anthony Merchak said that the deal
reinforced Cumming"s commitment to the Tourism BEE Charter. "Lesedi"s approach
to broad based BEE is among the most advanced in the South African travel
industry," he said.
For further information call
Jonathan Gerber on 011 239 7027
Issued by du Plessis Associates on behalf of Tourism Investment Corporation.
dPA contact Helen McKane Tel : +27 11 728 4701, Fax: +27 11 728 2547, Mobile:
082 330 2034 or e-mail: tourvest@dpapr.com
website : www.tourvest.co.za
Sponsor
Investec Bank Limited
Date: 20/02/2006 04:16:41 PM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
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