TVZ.L Regulatory News (TVZ)

4 Dec 2006 07:01

Travelzest plc04 December 2006 Date: 4 December 2006 On behalf of: Travelzest plc ("Travelzest" or the "Company") Embargoed until: 0700hrs Travelzest plcBoard Changes • Mike Bruce-Mitford retires as Chairman• Mark Molyneux appointed as new Chairman of Travelzest with immediate effect• Nishma Robb appointed to the Board The Board of Travelzest plc, the British online travel group offering specialisttravel programmes, today announces that Mike Bruce-Mitford has decided to retireas Chairman and step down from the Board. Mike will be succeeded as Chairman byNon-Executive Director, Mark Molyneux, with immediate effect. Mike Bruce-Mitford (60) has served on the Board of Travelzest since itsinauguration and was previously Chairman of VFB Holidays. He presided over theCompany's successful move from Ofex to AIM and has been supportive of theCompany's focused buy and build strategy to create a new group of specialisttravel businesses. The Board would like take this opportunity to thank Mike forthe invaluable contribution he has made to the Company during his time asChairman of the Board. Mark Molyneux (51) was appointed to the Travelzest Board as a non-executivedirector in October 2006. He stepped down as a Managing Partner at Ernst &Young (UK) and member of the four man Main Board earlier this year, having heldthe position since 1997. He was jointly responsible for the day-to-daymanagement of the accountancy and consulting firm during a period ofunprecedented growth and profitability. Mark built his career as a charteredaccountant at Ernst & Young and was made a partner in 1986. His initialspecialisation was audit, mainly entrepreneurial companies, later moving intocorporate finance with a focus on M&A, due diligence and restructuring. Hisexpertise in these areas will be of great benefit to Travelzest as the Companycontinues to grow. The Company would also like to announce the appointment of Nishma Robb (33) tothe Board with immediate effect. Nishma joined Travelzest as Group DistributionDirector in January 2006 and has worked alongside Group Chief Executive, ChrisMottershead, in developing the Company's online strategy and capability. Commenting on the Board changes, Chris Mottershead, Group Chief Executive, said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mike for his contribution duringa very important period in Travelzest's development. The Company has madesignificant strides in its quest to build a pre-eminent group in the travelindustry and continues to evolve rapidly. Mike felt the time was right for afresh perspective to lead the Group through the next phase of its growth. Onbehalf of the Board and everyone at Travelzest I wish Mike all the best for thefuture. "Mark's proven track record of managing change and driving growth during hislong career at Ernst & Young made him an ideal choice to take over the reins asChairman at this stage in the Company's development. I look forward to workingclosely with Mark and making use of his expertise to build on our success. "Finally, I am delighted to welcome Nishma Robb to the Board. Nishma is one ofthe most talented and dynamic individuals in the industry and has played aninstrumental role in the development of Travelzest's online capability, which iskey to our strategy. I look forward to continuing our work together as we drivethe growth and functionality of Travelzest's platforms, both in the UK and NorthAmerica." Nishma Robb (nee Patel) has held the following directorships within the lastfive years: Teletext Ltd No further disclosures are required under Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIMRules. Enquiries & Publication Quality Photographs: Travelzest plc 020 7747 7231Christopher Mottersheadwww.travelzestplc.com Redleaf Communications 020 7822 0200Emma Kane / Duncan McCormick / Samantha Robbins Background information on Travelzest Travelzest is a British on-line travel group with high quality brands offeringspecialist holiday programmes and services. Chris Mottershead, 48, the Group Chief Executive who joined Travelzest in April2005, has extensive experience in the travel industry and in working for bothlarge and small organisations. He was managing director of TUI UK between 2001and 2004 with responsibility for Thomson Holidays, Lunn Poly, Travelhouse andother travel businesses based in the UK. During that time, he steered thecompany through one of the most difficult periods for travel and still achievedrecord profits. Prior to this, he was President and CEO, North American LeisureGroup, Airtours plc, which he joined in 1993 and where his roles includedmanaging director and finance director. He joined Airtours from Aspro Travel &Inter European Airways where he was Group Finance Director. The Group currently comprises: itravel2000.com itravel2000.com was founded in 1994 and is an online travel agent specialisingin the sale of travel and travel related products. Sales are made throughvarious internet web sites and a customer call centre located in Mississauga,Ontario. The greater proportion of itravel2000.com's business is winter-based,thus providing counter-seasonal revenue to the predominantly summer-basedrevenues of Travelzest's businesses in Europe. Holiday Express Holiday Express is one of the UK's leading on-line travel agents. It is atravel agent specialising in on-line travel fulfillment 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 Fair's Fare Fair's Fare was established in 1995 and is the UK's leading firm of airfareanalysts, offering a unique travel planning service to both private and businessclients. The company seeks out the very best financial options, on all majorairlines, but primarily for long-haul travellers in the first and business classcabins of the world's leading airlines. VFB Holidays VFB Holidays is a long established, award winning tour operator, which providedholidays for approximately 24,000 passengers in its last financial year. VFB iscurrently contracted with the owners of approximately 350 holiday cottagesthroughout France for the summer season, and has booking arrangements with over150 hotels, most of which are privately owned and are located in rural orsemi-rural locations. VFB specialises in cottage holidays in France, but alsohas a number of other holiday programmes including: France a la Carte (hotelaccommodation), Corsica, Short Breaks, Escorted Tours and River Cruises. Best of Morocco 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. Peng Travel Peng Travel was formed in 1971 to arrange naturist holidays for the UK market.Since then, it has grown to become Britain's biggest naturist tour operator. Ithas unrivalled experience of naturist areas worldwide and has selected only thebest. The range of naturist holidays offered is unmatched by any other Britishtour operator. Faraway Holidays Faraway Holidays was launched by Travelzest in August 2006. It offerstailor-made holidays to many of the world's top exotic destinations in the FarEast, Middle East, Indian Ocean, South Pacific and South America. Everydestination offered by Faraway Holidays will have been visited by at least onemember of the sales team, ensuring that customers receive informed andknowledgeable advice when planning their holiday. Tapestry Collection Travelzest has acquired the assets of Tapestry Holidays and is soon to launch arevitalised brand, consisting of the very best of the Tapestry range. TheTapestry Collection will initially showcase the very best of Turkey and Cretefeaturing many of the most popular hotels, apartments and villas, together withsome exciting new properties. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange