Harbour Energy Regulatory News (HBR)

29 Jan 2007 07:01

Holidaybreak PLC29 January 2007 29 January 2007 HOLIDAYBREAK PLC Acquisition of West End Theatre Bookings Holidaybreak, the European specialist holiday group, today announces that itssubsidiary, Superbreak Mini-Holidays Limited, has acquired the London theatreticket agent West End Theatre Bookings Limited from its owners Andrew andMichelle Peterson, Timothy Cory and Hema Patel. West End Theatre Bookings' top selling shows are The Sound of Music, DirtyDancing, Lion King and Mamma Mia. Its websites include: www.uktickets.co.uk,www.londontickets.co.uk and www.westendtheatrebookings.com. It also sells viaits call centre and has outlets in the West End. The initial consideration of £2.6m was paid in cash upon completion. Deferredconsideration of up to £0.6m will be payable, over three years followingcompletion subject to certain conditions. West End Theatre Bookings made aprofit before tax of £0.4m on revenue of £9.1m in the twelve months ended 30September 2006. The acquisition is expected to be marginally earnings enhancing(pre-amortisation of intangibles)* for Holidaybreak in the financial year ended30 September 2007. Andrew Peterson, who founded the business in 1987, will remain as ManagingDirector of the business, along with his management team. The business will sitwithin Hotel Breaks, the largest division in the Holidaybreak Group. Carl Michel, Chief Executive of Holidaybreak, said: "The acquisition of West EndTheatre Bookings strengthens our position in London theatre-inclusive breaks andbuilds on our product packaging strategy. I am pleased to welcome Andrew and histeam into our group and we look forward to developing the business". \* This statement should not be taken to mean that the earnings per share ofHolidaybreak plc will necessarily match or exceed the historic reported earningsper share of Holidaybreak plc and no forecast is intended or implied. Enquiries: Holidaybreak +44 (0)1606 787100Carl Michel / Bob Baddeley Brunswick +44 (0)20 7404 5959Craig Breheny / Ash Spiegelberg Note to Editors Holidaybreak (HBR.L) is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Europeanspecialist holiday group sold 3.1m holidays in the year ended 30 September 2006(2005: 3m). Holidaybreak has three operating divisions: Hotel Breaks, AdventureTravel and Camping. Each is a market leader in its respective specialist sectorof the European holiday industry, has multi-channel distribution and isrecognised for providing high standards of product and service quality. For moreinformation, please go to www.holidaybreak.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange