Holidaybreak looking for cashflow lift

The group said it had undertaken a thorough review of the life expectancy of its mobile-home fleet and concluded that the average lifespan can be extended by two years.

Holidaybreak said it is confident of delivering a good financial performance for the year to September 30 when it reports annual results on November 30.

Chief executive Martin Davies said that given the overall economic conditions, he is very encouraged by the resilience and financial performance of the business.

Holidaybreak is outperforming its bigger rivals thanks to strong demand for its PGL school trips.

The education division remains largely unaffected by the recession as parents are willing to make sacrifices in order to prioritise their children going on educational trips.

PGL, the market leader in outdoor adventure, was named after its founder Peter Gordon Lawrence, but affectionately known by children as 'Parents Get Lost'.

Its target is schoolchildren between the ages of seven and 17 and activities range from 'Wet & Wild' watersports camps to a video game work- shop.

The multi-activity holiday is the most popular, packing as many outdoor education activities as possible into one week.

The hotel breaks business, based in York, saw a four per cent drop in sales for the 10 weeks to August 11. Holidaybreak's finance director Bob Baddeley said the hotel breaks division had suffered from a lack of new London West End shows.

He said that the favourite show is still The Lion King, although other popular shows include We Will Rock You, Wicked, Sister Act and Oliver!

In the adventure travel business, many people have delayed a tour this year but said they will go next year.

Holidaybreak's shares closed up two per cent last night, an increase of 5.75p to 295.75p.