RE: what would have been good13 Sep 2020 22:28
Saga heir Roger De Haan sails back to target even greyer pound
Roger De Haan watched as the holidays-to-insurance empire his father built lost its way. He’s returning with a plan to woo people like him — the over-70s
The company spent £600m on two new boats to replace ageing cruise ships, such as the Saga Rose
The company spent £600m on two new boats to replace ageing cruise ships, such as the Saga Ros
On a sunny morning in June, Euan Sutherland, the new(ish) boss of Saga, made a pilgrimage to Folkestone for an audience with Sir Roger De Haan, the son of the company’s founder. As they sipped tea in the garden of De Haan’s expansive farmhouse, the pair cooked up a plan they believed could restore the fortunes of Saga, the ailing seller of cruise holidays and insurance to the over-50s.
That plan came to the boil last week, when De Haan, who sold Saga for £1.3bn in 2004, committed to invest £100m for a stake of more than 20% and take the role of non-executive chairman. Saga, the pair said, had failed to live up to the promises made at the time of its stock market float in 2014. But, with the right investment and leadership, they would “unlock all the potential” yet to be tapped.
Investors, who will be asked to stump up a further £50m, are desperate for a shot of positive news. Saga was struggling even before the coronavirus called a halt to international travel. Its shares have plunged 75% since the start of the year and it is worth just £166m, a fraction of its £2.1bn valuation when it listed.
Roger De Haan: ‘If you focus on appealing to younger people, there’s a grave risk you will lose sight of your main purpose’
Roger De Haan: ‘If you focus on appealing to younger people, there’s a grave risk you will lose sight of your main purpose’
For De Haan, who has watched from the sidelines as the company his father founded in 1951 was laden with debt, merged with the AA and pushed unsatisfactorily onto the stock market, the prospect of returning is a relief.
“I was very upset the company lost its way,” the 71-year-old said via video from his home last week. “The company I handed over to the new owners [in 2004] was in brilliant shape.”
De Haan, who has a joint fortune of £876m with his brother Peter, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, has spent the past 16 years investing millions in regenerating areas of Folkestone, including a £90m rescue of the town and its seafront. He is convinced that Saga became “obsessed” with appealing to younger people — by which he means those in their fifties — and in danger of alienating its core customers:
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