South African agency expands UK base
The London operation of the South African agency Wings Corporate Travel has bought the UK based travel management company Travel Alliance.
It said the acquisition, for an undisclosed fee, put it among the leading UK TMCs in the financial and consulting sectors.
Tony Sofianos, Wings' ceo, said the purchase was part of his company's global expansion.
Wings, which already has offices in the UK, Houston in the US and South Africa, is also planning to open an office in Dubai next January, in Luanda in 2010 and in Singapore within the next 12-24 months.
Mr Sofianos said the new acquisition would help its UK operation, which has bases in London and Aberdeen, to gain a greater share of the market.
He added:"This is certainly a bold but very exciting step for our Company, especially given the current economic climate.
"Our company acquisition policy has always been to identify opportunities that are aligned to both our culture as well as our niche market strategy.
"The nature of Travel Alliance's business as well as the calibre of its employees is clearly aligned to this policy."
Travel Alliance, based in the City of London, was established 25 years and its clients come mainly from the insurance, financial, legal and IT sectors.
It was ranked 41 in this year's Buying Business Travel 50 Leading TMCs list with a turnover in 2008 of £13.5m and 15 staff. The vast bulk - 85% - of its 24,500 transactions was in air.
It is a member of the Advantage Focus Partnership.
Derek Barlow, Travel Alliance's managing director, will now become Wings' UKdirector of supplier relations and industry affairs.
He said: "Our clients can now look forward to an even higher level of service, achievable by the introduction of Wings' superb technology solutions and innovations."
Wings is a leading TMC in South Africa with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban.
Its clients come from government and the marine, oil and gas industries.
www.wings.travel www.travelalliance.co.uk