Australian TMC In Bid To Buy U.S. Agency

Australia-based travel management company FCm Travel Solutions, which has stated its intention to compete "head-to-head with the likes of American Express, Business Travel International and Carlson Wagonlit," has revealed ambitious expansion plans for Europe and the United States, where it is rumored to be in talks with a large New York City-based travel management company.

In the United Kingdom, its wholly owned company Britannic Travel on July 1 will change its name to FCm Travel Solutions UK. Britannic was an original shareholder in TQ3 Travel Solutions and continued to trade as TQ3 UK until last week, when it voluntarily gave up the license to the name three years before its expiration. FCm bought Britannic in March 2003.

In the rest of Europe, Herfurth Travel Group of Brussels and Antwerp will change its name to FCm Travel Solutions Belgium on July 1 under license. This will be followed by other newly signed licensees adopting the FCm name in Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and France over the next three months.

FCm, a subsidiary of Flight Centre, which claims to be Australasia's largest travel group, has a small, wholly owned operation in the United States, with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. However, global executive general manager Anthony Grigson said an acquisition is imminent. "We are in very detailed discussions with a company based on the East Coast," he said. "We have a smallish presence in the U.S. at the moment. We need to be a major player there." Grigson intends to close the deal within a few weeks.

FCm already owns its operations in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Hong Kong, and it retains 50 percent and 51 percent stakes, respectively, in its offices in China and India. Having witnessed the recent problems TQ3 and others experienced with retaining their networks, FCm has settled on a strategy of ownership in key markets, while licensees in other countries are required to adopt the FCm name.

Among those countries where Grigson is looking to buy, in addition to the United States, are France and Germany. Alan Spence, managing director of FCm UK, added: "Ownership is vital without doubt, because if you lose partners, you're in trouble."
FCm is the first TMC based in the southern hemisphere to attempt to crack the global travel management market. Spence said there is no reason why the company cannot compete for multinational accounts. "There is room for another player now that Rosenbluth International has gone," he said. "To have five in the global marketplace doesn't seem too many."

FCm UK will continue to handle six accounts in cooperation with TQ3 in spite of the name change. Both Spence and TQ3 senior vice president for account management Ian Lawrenson said those clients would be unaffected by the latest developments. TQ3 owns another London-based TMC, formerly Phoenix Travel, which now handles its U.K. business. "This clears up a lot of confusion," said Lawrenson.