UPDATE:
Cox & Kings has disclosed that it paid £8.5 million to get its hands on TUI hotel booking site LateRooms.
Director Peter Kerkar say:
"We are confident that bringing the LateRooms brand and technology into the fold will provide a significant boost to Cox & Kings’ growth trajectory and technology capabilities."
In the 12 months to September 2015, LateRooms generated total transaction value (TTV) of £300 million and net revenues of £50 million.
LateRooms was bought by First Choice for £108 million in 2006.
ORIGINAL:
Cox & Kings, one of the oldest travel brands in the world, is the new owner of hotel booking website LateRooms.
TUI Group confirmed this weekend that the website has been sold, in line with earlier statements that it wished to relinquish itself of the brand.
No acquisition price is being disclosed.
The European giant said in a statement that the LateRooms brand had been "held for sale" since May.
The official says "TUI Group is focussing on the integrated tourism business", namely its tour operating division and short and long haul airline.
First Choice, one of the forerunners of TUI Travel alongside merger partner Thomson, bought the Manchester, UK-based LateRooms in late 2006 for an initial price of £108 million, with a further £12 million slated to put on the sale price depending on performance.
TUI Group was formed by the merger of TUI Travel and TUI AG in December 2014.
The newly created company axed its AsiaRooms hotel booking site in February this year, as it geared up to consolidate some of its vast array of brands. Users at the time were redirected to the LateRooms brand.
Still, hotel booking websites such as AsiaRooms and LateRooms have faced considerable competition from the likes of Priceline-owned Booking.com and Expedia in recent years.
LateRooms claims to have 150,000 properties around the world on its portfolio.
Cox & Kings was created in 1758 to serve as a travel agent to members of the armed forces, with strong ties especially with the British military's presence in India.
After remaining in India despite the departure of the British in 1947, Cox & Kings was later bought by the Grindlays Bank as part of a project to develop tourism in India. It claims to employ 5,000 people in India alone, as well its regional offshoots in the UK, US, Russia, Singapore and Dubai.
The company did not return a request for comment.