Car rental service CarTrawler expands its realm by acquiring insurance comparison site Koala, marking another phase of their growth.
CarTrawler Reports Strong Year, Outlines Ambitious Growth Strategy
CarTrawler, the Irish tech firm specialising in car rental and mobility solutions, has reported a strong year marked by a double-digit increase in booking volumes, further EBITDA growth, and major new partnership wins. The company's future growth strategy focuses on becoming a leading multi-product ancillary platform for the global travel industry.
The year saw a 14% year-on-year increase in car booking volumes, driven by continued organic growth and new commercial partnerships. EBITDA rose by 2% to €23.305m. The acquisition of Koala, a Paris-based travel insurtech firm, is a strategic step towards this ambition.
Koala's automated, customer-centric travel insurance products will be integrated into CarTrawler's platform, offering more value to travel partners and customers. The acquisition marks CarTrawler's strategic entry into the travel insurance vertical.
Key elements of CarTrawler's growth strategy post-acquisition include expanding product offerings, strengthening their Connect Platform, building new partnerships, securing robust revenue growth, and leveraging Koala’s API-first insurance technology.
The company aims to evolve from a car rental tech platform into a comprehensive travel ancillary ecosystem by integrating multiple high-margin products, especially through innovation in travel insurance and partnerships. This strategy is expected to drive industry leadership and sustainable long-term growth.
CarTrawler's customer base includes EasyJet, eDreams ODIGEO, Uber, United Airlines, and American Express. The demand for B2B travel ancillary solutions continues to increase, with travel partners asking CarTrawler to add these solutions to its offering.
In the past few months, CarTrawler has secured major new partnerships with American Airlines, Qantas, Jet2, Virgin Australia, Finnair, and others. FY25 is expected to deliver record levels for CarTrawler's business, with further growth secured for 2026 and beyond through significant additional new partnerships.
Peter O'Donovan, chief executive of CarTrawler, stated that FY24 was a year of continued progress for the company. He expressed delight in welcoming leading travel brands to CarTrawler's platform, as they convert a robust new partnership pipeline.
Together, CarTrawler and Koala aim to unlock more value for travel partners and travellers alike. Koala offers insurance products like "Cancel For Any Reason", trip disruption cover, and traditional travel insurance across a network of over 70 partners in 17 countries.
The acquisition of Koala by CarTrawler, an Irish tech firm, was announced earlier this year. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
[1] CarTrawler Acquires Koala to Expand into Travel Insurance (CarTrawler Press Release, 2023) [2] CarTrawler's Growth Strategy Post-Acquisition (CarTrawler Blog, 2023) [3] CarTrawler's FY24 Financial Results (CarTrawler Press Release, 2024) [4] The Global Travel Insurance Market is Poised for Growth (Travel Insurance Market Report, 2023) [5] The Future of CarTrawler: Becoming a Comprehensive Travel Ancillary Ecosystem (CarTrawler Blog, 2024)
