TVZ.L Regulatory News (TVZ)

3 Apr 2006 10:47

Travelzest plc03 April 2006 Date: 03 April 2006 On behalf of: Travelzest plc ("Travelzest" or the "Company") For immediate release Travelzest plc Board Appointment • Colin McKinlay Joins Travelzest as Group Finance Director Further to the announcement on 19 December 2005, the Board of Travelzest plc,the British travel group offering specialist travel programmes and services, istoday pleased to announce the appointment of Colin Grant McKinlay ACA as itsGroup Finance Director. The appointment is made with immediate effect. MrMcKinlay joins Travelzest from Thomas Cook UK & Ireland where he has served asChief Financial Officer since 2004. Mr McKinlay, 36, has held a number of senior financial positions within thetravel industry. Operating at an international level, he has extensiveexperience in periods of aggressive growth and expansion and the handling ofrestructuring and turnaround environments. Mr McKinlay was previously Chief Financial Officer of Thomas Cook UK & Irelandwhere he was responsible for all aspects of finance, IT, and central supportfunctions during a period of record profitability. Prior to this, he enjoyed a nine year career in MyTravel Group (formerlyAirtours Plc). During that time he gained considerable international experienceboth in continental Europe and Canada where he was Chief Financial Officer ofMyTravel's North American Leisure Group, working closely with its then ChiefExecutive Chris Mottershead. Mr McKinlay qualified as a Chartered Accountant atCoopers & Lybrand in Manchester. Commenting on the appointment, Chris Mottershead, Group Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to welcome Colin to Travelzest today. Travelzest has anexciting blueprint for the future of our industry through which we have beenable to attract someone of Colin's calibre. Colin will be a key member of theTravelzest team and integral to the fulfilment of our ambitions and to thefuture success of the company from this day forward. I look forward to workingclosely together with him as we deliver our strategy to build a pre-eminentgroup in the travel industry." Enquiries & Publication Quality Photographs: Travelzest plc 020 7747 7231Christopher Mottersheadwww.travelzestplc.com Redleaf Communications 020 7955 1410Emma Kane/Duncan McCormick The Group currently comprises: VFB Holidays - a long established, award winning tour operator. VFB iscurrently contracted with the owners of approximately 350 holiday cottagesthroughout France, and has booking arrangements with over 150 hotels, most ofwhich are privately owned and are located in rural or semi-rural locations. VFBspecialises in cottage holidays in France, but also has a number of otherholiday programmes including: France a la Carte (hotel accommodation), Corsica,Short Breaks, Escorted Tours and River Cruises. Holiday Express - one of the UK's leading on-line travel agents which last yearprovided holidays for approximately 24,000 passengers. Holiday Express is atravel agent specialising in on-line travel fulfilment services and onlinetravel sales. Holiday Express' retail business (acting as travel agent),providing package holidays, charter flights and ski booking services, accountsfor the vast majority of its revenue and the remainder of its revenue isgenerated through acting as a tour operator. Holiday Express owns a number oftravel website domain names, including: - www.holiday.co.uk - www.flight.co.uk - www.discountholidays.com Best of Morocco is a tour operator specialising in high quality, tailor-madeholidays to Morocco for individuals or small groups. It provides apersonalised service and its highly experienced and knowledgeable staff helpeach customer select the hotels / resorts from their large range which areappropriate for the customer's desired style of holiday. Best of Morocco is thepremier agent for the Marathon des Sables, a foot race that takes place inMorocco in April each year, covering some 230km. Best of Morocco provides thelargest contingent of runners for the race each year. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange