Lastminute
Brent Hoberman joined forces with entrepreneurial dynamo ‘in-the-making’ Martha Lane-Fox to start lastminute.com in April 1998. Anything from theatre tickets to holidays was available to the public.
Now in its tenth year lastminute.com has grown into a worldwide business employing 1981 staff and is one of the most successful travel corporations on the planet. In March 2000, lastminute.com floated on the London Stock Exchange.
The funds raised were used to fund an acquisition shopping spree, which included:
France’s leading travel company Degriftour Group
Car broker giant Holiday Autos
Travel agents’ best-kept secret medhotels.com
Leading travel technology company OTC
lastminute.de
In May 2005, lastminute.com was purchased by Travelocity, part of the Sabre family of travel companies. Sabre, now owned by venture capitalist Texas Silverlake Partnership, is a leading travel technology companies that powers the travel industry with its fleet of products including its flights distribution tool.