TravelPerk buys UK-based Click Travel

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, TravelPerk has acquired risk management startup Albatross, to bolster resilience to Covid-19’s impacts, and NexTravel to expand its presence in the US market.

The latest acquisition deepens TravelPerk’s UK and European business.

The UK company handles some £300M in business travel for its client base, which will bolster TravelPerk’s revenues going forward.

“We are a global travel management platform but our core markets are the US and Europe and we expect both markets to be our primary growth areas this year,” said CEO and co-founder Avi Meir. “At the current moment, the US is our largest market due to the covid restrictions in the EU & UK.”

“Assuming travel restrictions won’t be imposed again, we expect to grow by 200% in 2022 with strong growth in our core markets in the US & EU,” he added.

In a statement on its sale to TravelPerk, Click Travel boss James McLean said: “Combining TravelPerk’s industry-leading knowledge, technology, experience and first class customer support with our own is a powerful proposition and we can’t wait to get started.”

Click Travel and TravelPerk will initially continue to run as two independent platforms but Meir confirmed that an “eventual full integration” is planned. The startup also said it will retain all Click Travel’s staff.

Travel Perk raised a $160M Series D round in April and has been able to avoid making any layoffs over the travel crisis during the ongoing pandemic.

In fact, according to TechCrunch, TravelPerk’s Meir is confident when it comes to near-term prospects for growth in the business travel sector.

“TravelPerk is outgrowing the market pace and is already at above 2019 revenue figures,” Meir told TechCrunch. “When it comes to the rest of the industry, the recovery of travel is well underway but moving at different speeds in different markets.

“We anticipate the global market may take a little longer but are optimistic we will see close to pre-pandemic levels in 2022.”