After 18 months of Covid-19 affected trading, On the Beach this morning said it was seeing “green shoots of recovery”.
Releasing a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting on Monday, the company said daily booked group sales exceeded 2019 levels on January 13th.
Group sales since the start of the financial year, including the period affected by Omicron, are down by just two per cent when compared to 2019.
Sales are also up by 389 per cent on 2021 – though On the Beach took large parts of its offering off sale last summer.
Simon Cooper, chief executive of On the Beach Group, commented: “After what has been a very difficult time for the travel industry, it has been incredibly pleasing to see consumer confidence and demand return in line with the loosening of travel restrictions in the UK and our destinations.
“The group’s proactive actions taken throughout the pandemic have led to increased group sales in the higher value four- and five-star hotels, particularly for holidays to the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Our sales patterns continue to evolve to our core destinations and while we are seeing shorter lead times for these holidays, we are hopeful that the increasing consumer confidence will result in a strong lates market in those regions.”
The cash position on February 23rd was £19 million, which reflects significant investment in funding low deposit schemes and offline marketing.
This figure excludes £61 million of customer prepayments held in Trust.
The group also has an undrawn £75 million credit facility.
Cooper added: “While we are mindful of the ongoing inflationary pressures impacting our core consumer base, we look to the future with renewed confidence and believe On the Beach is favourably positioned to continue to gain market share as demand for beach holidays further normalises.”
