Central European Online Travel Agency Group Szallas.hu PLC. further strengthens its international presence

Central European Online Travel Agency Group Szallas.hu PLC. further strengthens its international presence

• Hungary-based OTA Szallas.hu PLC. has completed the acquisition of intercountry booking site ‘Utazok.hu’ and Maiutazás Group, closing its high-value transactions in the region.
• After buying ‘Spanie.pl’, merging with HOTEL.CZ a.s. and taking partial ownership of ‘Travelminit’ in the past two years, Szallas.hu PLC. has become a regionally significant player in the online accommodation booking segment.
• It now offers online services in six countries, and almost half of the company’s current total revenue is the result of the international expansion.

(PRESS RELEASE) BUDAPEST, 5-Aug-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Szallas.hu PLC. has successfully acquired two Hungary-based intercountry travel agencies, Utazok.hu PLC. and Maiutazás Group, both of them offers discount trips online. By also purchasing Pihipakk.hu, the portfolio of Szallas.hu PLC. is now supplemented with experience packages, and Maiutazas.hu will be integrated into the international travel branch. Maiutazas Group achieved EUR 5,5 million turnover in 2018 and after the merge, the new group has gained EUR 27,8 million in all.

Szallas.hu PLC. has secured its international position with three major transactions in the past two years: by purchasing Polish ‘Spanie.pl’, Czech HOTEL.CZ a.s. and buying partial ownership of Romanian ‘Travelminit’, Hungarian OTA now offers its services in Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary. “We aim to grant half of our total revenue from abroad by 2021, and we expect to become a regionally defining actor in the online travel market” – said József Szigetvári, the chief executive officer of Szallas.hu PLC.

The first milestone of the international expansion of Szallas.hu PLC. was the acquisition of one of the oldest market players in the Polish market, Spanie.pl. By completing this purchase in December 2017, the operations of Szallas.hu in Poland have been tripled. Due to past years’ dynamic growth, currently almost 52,000 accommodations are listed and 5 million potential travellers are visiting the site. At this rate, becoming the market leader in the Polish market is a reachable goal in the medium term.

In the next stage of the international development, Szallas.hu PLC. has acquired share ownership in the Romanian Travelminit International SRL, which manages 30,000 bookings in the past year. The company, which administered bookings in the value of EUR 6 million in 2018, was chosen by Szallas.hu PLC.. due to its dynamic team and the quickest expansion rate in Romania. A milestone in the cooperation between Szallas.hu PLC. and Travelminit is a result of a combined cash and share-exchange transaction. It is expected to take place in 2020, when the Hungarian OTA procures the entire holding.

As of July 1st 2019, Szallas.hu PLC. is the sole shareholder of the HOTEL.CZ a.s., as a result of a combined cash and share-exchange transaction. The Hungary-based OTA reported that the non-organic growth this year is funded by a capital investment from PortfoLion VC, bank credits and share exchanges. „Our strategy with Szallas.hu PLC. was to create a regional champion from a local hero, by boosting its organic growth with a series of acquisitions in the region. With the completion of the current deal, we found an essential piece of this plan” – said Tibor Győrbiró, Investment Director of PortfoLion.

Szallas.hu PLC’s revenue reached roughly EUR 13 million last year, while revenue of HOTEL.CZ a.s. was more than EUR 8,5 million. “It makes sense and brings benefits to carry out developments together as part of a larger group, and to be able to offer better services to customers and our partners, and we also see a great opportunity in boosting travel between countries in the region” – commented Pavel Kotas, Chairman of the HOTEL.CZ a.s. Board of Directors.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kelemen Lili
Szallas.hu
Mobil | +36 30 417 87 83
E-mail | lili.kelemen@szallas.hu
Web | pr.szallas.hu