Flight Centre buys stakes in Ignite Travel Group

06-FlightCentre_signage_2Travel group Flight Centre has bought a 49 per cent stake in Ignite Travel Group to develop and broaden its range of products and services for travellers.

Gold Coast-based Ignite, established in 2005 by Randall Deer, specialises in luxury packaged holidays, exclusive discount travel vouchers and offers its own rewards and promotions programs.

Graham Turner, Flight Centre managing director, said the investment in Ignite would fast-track the business’ growth, while also delivering new distribution opportunities to company suppliers and new product options to their customers.

“Ignite has innovative customer products and distribution models with strong potential across its core business units in Australia and overseas in the future,” Turner said.

Ignite will continue to operate separately from Flight Centre and Deer, who is also Ignite’s managing director, will continue to oversee the business’ daily operations from its Broadbeach base.

Once the deal has been completed, Deer will chair a four-person board that will also include two Flight Centre executives and an additional Ignite representative.

Flight Centre will use general cash to buy its 49 per cent interest in Ignite.

Provisions are in place for Flight Centre to increase its holding in the future subject to a series of mutual partnership performance requirements. Future payments will be based on the business’ results.

According to Flight Centre, Ignite is expected to generate more than $100 million in transactions in the 2016/17 financial year.

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