Darrin Grafton: Setting the pace
I’m excited to share details of a new chapter in Serko’s growth story.
Serko operates in a growing business travel market expected to be worth a record $US1.48 trillion by the end of this year, and more than $US2 trillion by 2028.
At Serko, we want to keep setting the pace – to keep developing digital solutions that transform business travel, making it simpler and better for everyone.
And so, today we’ve announced:
- We are expanding our existing operations in North America – a US$239 billion market.
- This expansion will be underpinned by a long-term partnership with one of the world’s leading travel technology companies, Sabre. We will be co-investing with Sabre to bring new capabilities to the industry.
- As part of the partnership, we will acquire Sabre’s business travel management solution GetThere, with Serko becoming the #2 online booking tool provider in North America by volume.
- We’ve announced a multi-year product and technology investment programme to remain at the forefront of corporate travel, positioning us to respond to increasing demands for automation, data and AI tools.
Additionally, through our partnership with Sabre, we will utilise the Sabre and Google co-innovation framework to further explore and develop new advancements and solutions for the corporate travel space.
We’ve had a relationship with Sabre dating back to the start of Serko – we are delighted to be entering this partnership with the Sabre team as we accelerate innovation in managed travel by bringing together our unique and complementary expertise and resources. This is all with the goal of empowering and delivering greater value to travel management companies, business travel buyers and business travellers.
We warmly welcome the GetThere team and GetThere customers to Serko. GetThere has a highly regarded team with substantial knowledge and expertise on both global travel and the North American market.
Today we also announced a strong first half – delivering total income growth, positive EBITDAF and positive cash flow – with acceleration of total income into the second half. We are particularly pleased with the positive trajectory of Booking.com for Business under our long-term partnership, and following the successful execution of plans outlined in May.
We thank all of our partners, customers and shareholders for your support.
Absolutely none of this would be possible without the incredible team at Serko – who go above and beyond every day. Thank you!
Darrin
