Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group buys Cruise Club UKAustralia’s Flight Centre Travel Group buys Cruise Club UK

After reintroducing specialist cruise brand Cruiseabout and launching the CruiseHQ wholesale business in Australia, the Flight Centre Travel Group acquired Cruise Club UK.

The acquisition of the privately-owned Manchester-based Cruise Club UK will fast-track FCTG’s growth in the cruise sector globally, while strengthening its United Kingdom leisure presence.

Ignite Holidays model

Cruise Club UK’s future growth blueprint will be based on the model used by FCTG’s successful Ignite Holidays (incorporating MyCruises) business in Australia.

‘As we look to increase cruise sales and expand Ignite’s offering internationally, we are excited by the potential in the UK and the parallels with Australia, where the Ignite model and MyCruises have proven so successful,’ James Kavanagh, CEO of FCTG’s global leisure business said.

‘We aim to replicate that success in the UK, which is a top-three source market for cruise passengers globally and estimated to be double the size of the Australian market,’ Kavanagh said.

‘Given Ignite’s procurement, packaging and advertising expertise, which allows the business to secure additional bonuses and creates extra value for customers, we’re confident we can deliver an innovative and disruptive offering that will quickly prove popular.

Cruise Club UK’s team

‘We are also very excited to work with the Cruise Club UK’s team to build on the strong platform that has been established over some 30 years and to broaden the product offering to include the exclusive packages that MyCruises has become famous for.’

Ignite founder Randall Deer will be Cruise Club UK’s MD and will work closely with the Cruise Club team and Ignite’s CEO Ryan Thomas to expand the business.