SYDNEY – Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group said on Wednesday it agreed to acquire British online cruise agency Iglu for up to 127 million pounds ($155 million), accelerating its push into the high-margin global cruise market.
The travel agency group will pay 100 million pounds upfront and up to 27 million pounds in performance-linked earnouts for Iglu, which commands more than 15% of UK cruise bookings through intermediaries.
The deal values Iglu at an enterprise value of 122 million pounds, or 7.25 times its forecast core earnings for fiscal 2026 including synergies, Flight Centre said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
The acquisition will nearly double Flight Centre’s annualised cruise-related transaction value to more than $2 billion in fiscal 2026, reaching that target two years ahead of plan. Iglu’s digital platform will be integrated across Flight Centre’s leisure brands to support global expansion, particularly into the United States.
“Iglu brings a strong brand and a scalable technology platform that aligns with FLT’s strategic objectives,” said Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner.
Flight Centre raised its fiscal 2026 underlying profit before tax forecast by about 3% to a range of A$315 million to A$350 million ($210 million to $233 million), reflecting Iglu’s expected part-year contribution. The acquisition is expected to be earnings per share accretive in the same year.
Iglu, founded in 1998, will continue to be led by CEO David Gooch and will become part of Flight Centre’s global leisure division. The transaction provides an exit for UK private equity investor LDC and other shareholders.
Flight Centre said the deal will be funded from cash and existing debt facilities. The company is also continuing an on-market share buyback program of up to A$200 million, of which about A$110 million has been spent so far.
($1 = 0.8185 pounds)
($1 = 1.5075 Australian dollars)