Flight Centre Travel Group aquires Iglu to accelerate cruise growth
FCTG has accelerated growth in the highly attractive cruise sector by agreeing to acquire Iglu, the United Kingdom’s leading online cruise agency.
Completion of the acquisition is subject to a number of procedural steps, and is expected to be concluded before commencement of business on 11 December 2025.
The acquisition significantly expands FLT’s cruise footprint, delivering scale, advanced technology and broader access to the UK – the world’s third-largest cruise market.
In addition, Iglu’s industry-leading, proprietary digital platform will:
- Integrate across FLT’s leisure brands to accelerate sales and create a unified, omni-channel experience for cruise customers; and
- Serve as a springboard for entry into the US and other high-growth markets
Cruise is a rapidly growing leisure sector, with salesat both FLT and Iglu increasing 15-20%year-on-year, driven by a resilient customer base and a supplychain that is investing heavily in new ships and partnerships.
Iglu also has an attractive margin profile – 3.1% FY25 EBITDA margin versus 2.2% across FLT’s leisure division – and, on a pro-forma basis, is forecast to deliver GBP14.8m in adjusted EBITDA from roughly GBP450m in TTV during FY26.
With Iglu on board,FLT’s cruise-related TTV will almost double to surpass$2b (annualised) during FY26 –two years ahead of plan.
A $3b-per-year FY28 stretch target is now in place, supported by a rounded cruise network spanning online, offline and wholesale channels (illustrated in the supplementary detail).
In the UK, Iglu adds an online cruise platform to a leisure portfolio featuring Flight Centre, Scott Dunn (luxury)and Cruise Club UK. This diversified portfolio is set to deliver more than
$1.5b in annualised TTV during FY26, reducing leisure’s Southern Hemisphere weighting.
Scott Dunn’s strong performance since its January 2023 acquisition complements Iglu’s scalable technology and UK presence, unlocking new opportunities in high-growth sectors.
FLT managing director Graham Turner said: “This acquisition delivers immediate shareholder value through EPS accretion and is a game-changer in terms of the future opportunities it unlocks in the global cruise market. Iglu brings a strong brand and a scalable technology platform that aligns with FLT’s strategic objectives.”
About Iglu
Within the intermediary market, London-based Iglu currently captures more than 15% of UK cruise bookings and more than 75% of online bookings. Cruise accounts for around 90% of Iglu’s total bookings, with ski (Iglu Ski) contributing the remaining 10%.
Post acquisition, CEO David Gooch will continue to lead the business, which was founded in 1998 and will now form part of FLT’s global leisure division under CEO James Kavanagh.
"We are thrilled to become part of the Flight Centre Travel Group,” Mr Gooch said. “This opens up significant future growth opportunities, allowing us to scale our operations while maintaining the unique identity that has made us successful.
“By leveraging Iglu’s world-leading ecommerce platform alongside Flight Centre’s global experience, we are perfectly positioned to capture market share. Most importantly, the strong cultural fit between our businesses gives me great confidence that we will continue to deliver exceptional value to our customers and people."
The transaction marks an exit for UK private equity investor LDC, co-investor Beauport Partners and founder Richard Downs and follows a transformational 10-yearpartnership to create the UK’s leading cruise online travel agency.
