Lastminute.com buys off-line hotel booker

Internet travel company Lastminute.com has bought its first off-line business, a hotel booking agency. First Option cost Lastminute.com £12.1m.

The business has 21 locations around the UK at railway stations and airports. These will now feature the Lastminute.com brand.The acquisition will take Lastminute.com's total number of hotel bookings to over four million room nights a year.

'The acquisition of First Option creates an opportunity for further growth in a category where the margins are good and the returns are sustainable. Hotels is a product category which has seen great adoption by consumers online', said Brent Hoberman, chief executive of Lastminute.com.

The business has 21 locations around the UK at railway stations and airports. These will now feature the Lastminute.com brand.The acquisition will take Lastminute.com's total number of hotel bookings to over four million room nights a year.

'The acquisition of First Option creates an opportunity for further growth in a category where the margins are good and the returns are sustainable. Hotels is a product category which has seen great adoption by consumers online', said Brent Hoberman, chief executive of Lastminute.com.