TravelPerk, a business trip booking platform, has acquired Click Travel from the UK. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but we were informed that it was the third largest acquisition by TravelPerk to-date.Since the pandemic crisis in Europe last year, the Barcelona-based startup has been on a bit more of a shopping spree. It picked up risk management startup Albatross during summer 2020 to increase resilience to COVID-19s effects. Then, it went on to purchase US-based NexTravel in Jan to expand its US presence.This latest acquisition will deepen TravelPerks UK/Europe business. Click Travels now has 2,000+ clients from SME (including Talk Talk, Five Guys and Red Bull) and it will add to its customer base, which will be just over 5,000 after the acquisition.TravelPerks will see an increase in revenues as the UK company handles 300M business travel for its clients. This platform is now regarded as the best for managing travel in the UK and globally.While we are a global platform for travel management, our core markets are the US & Europe. We expect both markets to grow this year. Due to covid restrictions in the EU & UK, the US is currently our largest market.He said that, assuming no travel restrictions will be placed again, we anticipate a growth rate of 200% in 2022, with strong growth in our core markets, the US and EU.Click Travel is a Birmingham-based company that was established in 1999. It appears to have received relatively little venture capital over time, according to Crunchbase. The veteran player took part in the Future Fifty scale up program, which was funded by the government, and also received a multimillion-pound investment from UK's Business Growth Fund.It remains to be seen if there will be any domestic angst over the sale of a UK high-growth business to a European competitor.James McLean, CEO of TravelPerk, omitted to mention pandemics' impact on travel industry. Instead, he highlighted what he called the pair's shared mission to lower the cost and complexity in business travel.We are thrilled to bring our teams together because of our shared goals and the natural cultural fit between them. McLean said that combining TravelPerks' industry-leading knowledge, technology and experience with our own is an exciting proposition. We can't wait to get started.Click Travel was initially focused on the UK, but TravelPerk is a global company.It also attracted large amounts of investment from outside (totalling just below $300M) in its short run, which was founded in 2015.It raised $160M Series D rounds in April. It also had topped up its Series C round in July 2019, just before the pandemic. TravelPerk was able to purchase competitors and has not been left short of funds to weather the COVID-19 revenue crunch. It has also avoided any layoffs due to the travel crisis.According to a press release, The Baupost Group, a Boston-based investment manager, provided capital to finance Click Travel's acquisition.TravelPerks Meir is still bullish on the near-term prospects of growth in the business travel industry despite continuing concerns in Europe, the US and elsewhere about the more deadly Delta virus. This virus has been causing a surge in COVID-19 rates in certain markets (including the UK), and some countries claim that it's already showing signs of recovery.Meir said that TravelPerk has outperformed the market and is now at a higher revenue level than in 2019. The rest of the industry is experiencing a recovery, but it's moving at different rates in different markets. According to TSA Checkpoint figures in the US, the current rate at which the US travel industry is recovering will see it reach its pre-pandemic level by August 2021.Although we expect the global market to take some time, we are confident that we will be able to see pre-pandemic levels by 2022.He also said that we were one of few companies in the industry that has continued to grow and scale since the outbreak of the pandemic. This strategy didn't include any layoffs. Our strategy since March 2013 has not been to rest but to invest heavily in our product offerings and our global reach so that we can capitalize on the recovery of travel. Today's news is an important part of that strategy.We intend to be aggressive in our growth strategy. If they are strategic and align with our vision and culture, we will consider additional acquisitions.Per Meir, Click Travel & TravelPerk will continue to be independent platforms initially. However, he said that a full integration is in the works with both sites operating under the TravelPerk brand.Click Travels will continue to employ its staff, despite the startup denying that it plans to cut any jobs. It plans to keep the company's Birmingham headquarters, which it uses as a hub for its business in the UK (along with its London office).Click Travel's 150 employees were an important reason we decided to buy the company. They were also priced into the deal. There are no plans for redundancies. Instead, we aim to integrate all members of the TravelPerk Group.When asked if TravelPerk would consider expanding its reach to include the enterprise market, he said that he had seen interest from larger companies and was open to the idea. However, Meir stated that TravelPerk is still focusing on the SME market, as this is where there is the greatest need and the highest growth potential.This is why we are so excited about this acquisition; it makes us the undisputed leader in travel management for SMEs worldwide, he said.Flexibility and sustainabilityMeir discussed how the pandemic affected business travel and highlighted two key trends TravelPerk will continue investing in: Flexibility for bookings, and sustainability to reduce environmental impact.TravelPerk will invest more than $100M into two products in these areas (aka FlexiPerk or GreenPerk), per Meir.Our platform has shown us that travelers are booking closer to their departure dates. Before the pandemic the trip search was conducted between 7 to 30 days before the departure date. He also stressed the importance of flexibility in the sector. We now see that most trip searches are for trips within 6 days. Flexibility is a key benefit in business travel. Flexible fares are a benefit that gives travelers the assurance that they won't lose their money if they have to cancel or change their trip at short notice.Meir stated that businesses are looking at ways to reduce their carbon footprints and overall environmental impact. However, consumers also want to make conscious decisions to reduce carbon emissions. This suggests that train-based travel will be more popular than flights. This might require some creative retooling to the TravelPerks logo, which prominently displays an airplane icon.He said that we expect significant interest in GreenPerk's carbon-offsetting product. However, we also expect to see changes to how people travel.Rail is, for instance, undoubtedly the most environmentally-friendly option. A train ride over a domestic flight can cut carbon emissions by around 84%. Since a long time, we have been expanding our rail network and expect train travel to become a more popular option for business travelers.Meir continues to advocate that businesses will offer more remote options to their employees to increase business travel.He suggested that while this might not be good news for commuters, it will lead to more business travel. Distributed teams, whether they work remotely and can access the internet from any location, or if they operate in a hybrid model, will need to get together. There will be a new type business trip where team members travel from different hubs to meet with clients, colleagues and for brainstorming sessions.
