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managing director Jamie Gardiner who joined the board in 2017 and represents tour operator (principal) members with turnover below £50 million a year. Having last been elected in 2023, Gardiner faces re-election in November if he is to remain a representative board member. The second is Adam Murray,


Flight Centre group chief financial officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, who joined the board in 2019 and was re-elected last year to represent members with retail turnover above £20 million. The final possible candidate


is Sunvil group managing director Chris Wright, who was appointed to the board last November. However, Travel Weekly understands Wright has decided not to stand for the role – leaving just two candidates. Two board member places


come up for election before the AGM on December 4, one representing members with retail turnover of less than £20 million – the position currently held by Broccoli – and the other for Gardiner’s position, with both entitled to stand again. Sunvil Holidays chairman Noel


Josephides was the last Abta chair to be directly elected by members in 2013, while Rowland was an elected board member when appointed chair. Were an appointed board member chosen, it would be the first time an unelected director had chaired Abta. Abta noted at the time of the


rule change: “This reflects the increasingly technical demands of the chairman role and is a model commonly used to ensure efficient running of the board.”


i For full details about next week’s Travel Convention, visit: abta.com/events/the-travel-convention


54 2 OCTOBER 2025


On the Beach predicts fall in profits as Classic closes


Ian Taylor


On the Beach’s profit warning and announcement that it is to wind up Classic Collection last week represented a twin blow to the company’s previously smooth ascent to becoming the fifth-largest Atol holder. The company downgraded its


full-year profit forecast by up to 10%, going from confidence “in delivering” more than £38 million in May to projecting profits of £34.5 million to £35.5 million in last week’s update. The revised sum remains a healthy


one in line with a “third consecutive record year of growth” and summer bookings “12% ahead of last year”. But investors reacted negatively, triggering an immediate 20% fall in share price. The shares remained 15% down on their pre-update value on Monday and 25% down on a month ago. On the Beach announced the


“orderly wind down” of Classic Collection, to allow it to focus on


Si Morris-Green, B2B director, Classic Collection


“the higher growth potential” of its consumer business – contradicting previous results statements highlighting the growth potential of the B2B sector. It sweetened the news for investors


by announcing a £25 million buy-back of shares, having already completed a £30 million buy-back this year. Yet as recently as May, the group


was reporting “solid progress” and 36% growth in Classic Collection bookings in the six months to March, giving “confidence the segment can return to profitability” this year. Twelve months earlier, amid a


restructure and merger of the Classic


brands, On the Beach said the businesses still “represent a meaningful part of our group”, saying: “We expect the B2B channel’s profitability to improve once the key measures identified to simplify its operating model have been implemented.” The company had already


reported incurring £1.5 million in redundancy costs in the “consolidation of certain group functions” in its 2023 results. It considered selling Classic


Collection Holidays in 2024 but decided against and plumped instead for winding it up, writing off £4.6 million in goodwill and transferring the remaining assets to Classic Package Holidays, which rebranded as Classic Collection. The group valued the remaining


goodwill associated with Classic Collection at £4 million in May this year and its intangible assets at £4.9 million, meaning it has written near to another £9 million off its balance sheet.


Classic Collection’s evolution under On the Beach


On the Beach acquired Classic Collection for £20 million in August 2018, saying it “believed the acquisition would be earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership”. The company pledged to invest


in Classic’s luxury holidays portfolio and an online booking portal giving agents access to mainstream beach holidays, with Classic Package Holidays launching in February 2019 and both Classic brands launching a long-haul offering. In annual results for 2021,


On the Beach described the Classic businesses as an “expansion area”, increasing its “addressable market [by] about eight million holidaymakers”. A year later, it described


both brands as “well-positioned to deliver growth” despite the “competitive landscape for our B2B businesses” resulting in “slower than expected” growth. The highly experienced Andy


Freeth was appointed chief executive of the Classic brands’ parent company in November


2022 “to drive continued growth”, and in full-year results to September 2023 the group was still confidently forecasting a “return to B2B profitability” in 2024. But by March 2024,


Freeth had departed, with the company announcing job losses and the brands’ merger.


travelweekly.co.uk


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