Comtec parent Inspiretec on track to double turnover this year after client wins

Comtec parent Inspiretec is on track to double its turnover this year having taken on 10 new clients so far in 2017. The group was formed this year with the bringing together of Comtec, the provider of booking systems Travelink, … Continue reading →

Comtec parent Inspiretec is on track to double its turnover this year having taken on 10 new clients so far in 2017.

The group was formed this year with the bringing together of Comtec, the provider of booking systems Travelink, Eysys, a big data CRM system, and creative agency Sequence.

Chief executive Simon Powell, who originally founded Comtec and bought it back off private equity in 2015, said bringing the brands together was fuelling growth.

“When I sold the business in 2008 we were turning over £13 million and had about 160 to 170 staff. We’re now back up to 130 and turnover will be just under £10 million this year,” he said.

Inspiretec expects travel CRM to be a growth area because renewing reservation systems is only done on average once every seven years. However, five of the new business wins have been for Travelink.

Companies Inspiretec have started working with this year include Elegant Resorts, Ramblers and Travelopia brands Hayes and Jarvis and Citalia.

“We see there is huge growth opportunity in travel CRM and personalisation,” Powell said. “It allows clients to integrate the reservations system with what’s happening on the web, optimising product through the call centre.”

“You can see what’s someone is doing on the web if they are registered in some way and you can view what they’ve been doing or what reviews they have read. You can direct that inquiry to the right person and importantly the client is not having to repeat what they are looking for.”

Powell said the firm has delivered five front-end websites this year representing a quarter of a million each in revenue to the business to build and deliver. He said he has been surprised by the big budgets clients have available to create new sites.

Inspiretec is poised to roll out an entirely new integrated travel search and management system with built-in CRM in Canada with two clients, the Canadian Automobile Association and a Hogg Robinson platform for Scotiabank. This will be introduced to the UK by the end of this year.

Ninety percent of Inspiretec’s business is in travel, but it has just gone live with a new application called ClinkedIn for the North Wales Police which supplies information on people they stop and search including any outstanding criminal warrants, known associates, recent crimes they could be linked to and their residency status.