Travelex
| File:Travelex logo.png | |
| Company type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Lloyd Dorfman (Founder) |
| Products | Foreign exchange |
| Revenue | £721.5 million (2014) |
| £85.9 million (2014) | |
| Owner | Apax Partners, B. R. Shetty and Lloyd Dorfman |
Number of employees | 6500+ (2012) |
| Website | www |
Travelex Group is a foreign exchange company founded by Lloyd Dorfman and headquartered in London. Its main businesses are international payments, bureaux de change and issuing prepaid credit cards for use by travellers.[1] It is the world's largest foreign exchange bureau and is a major donor and sponsor of the Royal National Theatre.[2]
In 2007 it proposed a 'space currency' called the Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination, as part of a viral marketing campaign.[3]
History
Travelex was founded by Dorfman, opening its first branch in central London in 1976.[1]
On 8 November 2000 it bought Thomas Cook's worldwide foreign exchange business for £440m, which significantly expanded its international operations.[4]
In February 2005, buy-out firm Apax Partners bought a majority stake in the company, however Dorfman retained 30% and continued to run the business.[5] Ian Meakins was CEO from 2006-2009, before becoming CEO of Wolseley plc.
In early 2010 Travelex disclosed significant losses due to the interest payments on its large debts. It had pulled back from a stock market flotation the year before and said that it was now "considering a range of potential financing structures".[6] Later that year it sold its card programme management division to MasterCard for £290 million to help reduce its debts.[7][8]
On 5 July 2011 Travelex sold its Global Business Payments division to Western Union for £606 million.[9]
By 2012, Travelex had a total workforce in excess of 6,500.[citation needed] By March 2014, Travelex had operations in 27 countries and more than 1,500 stores.[10]
In 2014, Apax Partners sold its majority stake of 51% to UAE based Indian businessman Bavaguthu Shetty valuing the company at approx £1bn. Shetty also owns UAE Exchange a UAE-based money transfer business that operates in 32 countries. Shetty who also owns London-listed NMC Health was supported in acquisition by Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle Centurion.[11][12] This sale was completed in January 2015[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b Travelex Group information on official website, accessed 5 November 2012.[dead link]
- ^ Brown, Mark "National Theatre's Cottesloe venue to be renamed after £10m donor" The Guardian 28 October 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ Travelex (2007). "Travelex Press Release". Travelex. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
- ^ London(Business Wire) (November 8, 2000). "Travelex plc Acquires Thomas Cook Financial Services Division". Retrieved January 8, 2011.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Apax Partners to Buy Majority of Britain's Travelex". Bloomberg. February 28, 2005. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ "Travelex in race to sort out huge debt". thisismoney.co.uk. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
- ^ Wilson, Harry (9 December 2010). "MasterCard buys Travelex division for £290m". London: The Telegraph.
- ^ Patricia Kuo (December 10, 2010). "Travelex Loans Rise on Plans to Cut Senior Debt After Unit Sale". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ "Western Union to Acquire Travelex Global Business Payments". Businesswire. July 5, 2011.
- ^ Travelex. "Travelex Corporate Presentation" (PDF). 2014-03. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
- ^ "Apax to sell majority stake in Travelex". The Guardian. May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Travelex shelves IPO during sale talks with UAE buyer". The Telegraph. May 22, 2014.
- ^ http://www.travelex-corporate.com/EN/About_Us/