Travelex Group
Encyclopedia
Travelex Group is foreign exchange
company founded by Lloyd Dorfman
and headquartered London. Its main businesses are international payments, bureau de change
and issuing prepaid credit card
s for use by travellers. It is the world's largest foreign exchange bureau
and is a major donor and sponsor of the Royal National Theatre
.
In 2007 it proposed a 'space currency' called the Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination
as part of a viral marketing
campaign.
On November 8, 2000 it bought Thomas Cook's worldwide foreign exchange business for £440m which significantly expanded its international operations.
In Feb 2005, buy-out firm Apax Partners
bought a majority stake in the company, however Lloyd Dorfman retained 30% and continued to run the business.
In early 2010 Travelex disclosed significant losses due to the interest payments on its large debts. It had pulled back from a stock market flotation the year before and said that it was now "considering a range of potential financing structures". Later that year it sold its card program management division to MasterCard
for £290 million to help reduce its debts.
In April 2011 Travelex were on the verge of appointing banks to manage the sale of its global business payments division.
On July 5, 2011 Travelex sold its Global Business Payments division to Western Union
for £
606 Million.
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
company founded by Lloyd Dorfman
Lloyd Dorfman
Lloyd Dorfman is a British entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded the business that became the Travelex Group, today the world's largest non-bank foreign exchange business...
and headquartered London. Its main businesses are international payments, bureau de change
Bureau de Change
A bureau de change or currency exchange is a business whose customers exchange one currency for another. Although originally French, the term bureau de change is widely used throughout Europe, and European travellers can usually easily identify these facilities when in other European countries...
and issuing prepaid credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s for use by travellers. It is the world's largest foreign exchange bureau
Foreign exchange companies
A non-bank foreign exchange company also known as foreign exchange broker or simply forex broker is a company that offers currency exchange and international payments to private individuals and companies. The term is typically used for currency exchange companies that offer physical delivery rather...
and is a major donor and sponsor of the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
.
In 2007 it proposed a 'space currency' called the Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination
Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination
The Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination was a proposed "space currency" created as a viral marketing campaign launched by Travelex with the London-based public relations and advertising firm, talkPR. The full name is a backronym from 'quid', a slang term for the British Pound...
as part of a viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign.
History
It was founded in 1976 by Lloyd Dorfman in central London.On November 8, 2000 it bought Thomas Cook's worldwide foreign exchange business for £440m which significantly expanded its international operations.
In Feb 2005, buy-out firm Apax Partners
Apax Partners
Apax Partners LLP is a global private equity and venture capital firm, headquartered in London. The company also operates out of eight other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel-Aviv, Madrid, Stockholm, Milan and Munich. The firm, including its various predecessors, have raised...
bought a majority stake in the company, however Lloyd Dorfman retained 30% and continued to run the business.
In early 2010 Travelex disclosed significant losses due to the interest payments on its large debts. It had pulled back from a stock market flotation the year before and said that it was now "considering a range of potential financing structures". Later that year it sold its card program management division to MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
for £290 million to help reduce its debts.
In April 2011 Travelex were on the verge of appointing banks to manage the sale of its global business payments division.
On July 5, 2011 Travelex sold its Global Business Payments division to Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
for £
Pound sign
The pound sign is the symbol for the pound sterling—the currency of the United Kingdom . The same symbol is used for similarly named currencies in some other countries and territories, such as the Irish pound, Gibraltar pound, Australian pound and the Italian lira...
606 Million.