Revenues soar to £35m, 32 per cent increase in new customers, Profits forecast to double

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - January 19th, 2012 -

Your Golf Travel.com has reported another record performance in 2011 with sales for the London business rising by 35 per cent to £35m.

Against a background of austerity, the company’s Chief Executive Ross Marshall paid tribute to his staff for an “Olympian effort” in delivering remarkable growth in both revenues and customers, results which further underline the company’s status as Europe’s largest golf travel retailer.

The operator witnessed a 32 per cent increase in new customers and results were further buoyed by additional demand for overseas golf holidays and a jump in average consumer spend.

Bookings to the US were almost 200 per cent up, while visitors to Spain rose by 63 per cent. The average spend on an overseas trip improved by 14.5 per cent, fuelled by demand for longer stays and an increase in popularity for long-haul and exotic golf destinations.

Closer to home there were notable performances from Ireland – which saw revenue growth of 43 per cent – and England, where bookings rose by 33 per cent.

Your Golf Travel.com’s Director of Product – Andrew Smith – regarded the results as vindication for the company’s policy of offering the very best value for money: “At a time when household inflation is approaching five per cent, the like-for-like cost of our holidays increased by just one per cent in 2011 and this has had a huge impact in retaining existing customers and attracting new business.

“We are particularly encouraged with the 49 per cent growth in our international holiday sector. We have made significant investments in trade licences, personnel and expanding our US and long-haul portfolios and the performance in these areas demonstrates that even in the current economic climate, there is demand for that premium golfing experience.

“The only downside was the inevitable decrease in business to Tunisia and Egypt, due to political unrest, but we have seen substantial growth to new resorts in Morocco, which has the potential to blossom into an outstanding golf destination.”

Marshall added: “We are delighted that the company has been able to deliver another year of significant growth by providing great levels of service, combined with fantastic pricing for all our customers. This is what kept golfers on the fairways throughout 2011. 

“Thanks to an Olympian effort from our team, the business has now firmly established itself as Europe’s largest golf travel retailer and our other group brands have also grown significantly and traded with distinction.

“Encouragingly we have started 2012 with two consecutive record weeks showing nearly 50 per cent year-on-year increases in sales. So regardless of the continued tough economic outlook, we are focused on maintaining these levels of growth throughout the year. 

“We are also very excited about the launch of some new sister brands as well as developing our existing ones further."

The Palatinate Group, Your Golf Travel.com’s parent brand, which also operates www.spabreaks.com and www.racingbreaks.com, saw total group turnover rise to £43m.

Visit www.yourgolftravel.com or call 0800 043 6644

Information for journalists:

YourGolfTravel.com is Europe’s largest golf-travel company.

Founders Ross Marshall and Andrew Harding maxed out their credit cards to fund the start-up of the company in 2005 and today the business offers package trips to 3,000 courses in 22 countries and books more than 200,000 travellers each year.

In December 2011 YourGolfTravel.com was ranked twenty sixth in The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 – a list of the country’s fastest growing private companies based on sales growth over three years. The company previously ranked 6th in 2010 and 15th in 2009.

YourGolfTravel.com is committed to providing the lowest prices on golfing holidays and breaks on the internet and offers more than 3,000 venues and courses through its website and brochure.

The company offers a range of innovative golf breaks, including ‘behind the ropes’ packages to major championship venues, allowing you to follow in the footsteps of the pros, and has previously sold breaks for as little as £1.

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