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Travelport increases investment into Locomote

In an exciting development, Travelport has boosted its investment into Locomote, taking the majority share of the fast-growing Aussie travel tech start-up.

In an exciting development, Travelport has boosted its investment into Locomote, taking the majority share of the fast-growing Aussie travel tech start-up.

The leading Travel Commerce Platform, Travelport, has increased its stake in Locomote to 55 per cent, while a jointly appointed CEO, Sandra McLeod, is set to join Locomote in the new year as part of a series of executive changes stemming from the partnership. Founding investor and former CEO, Philip Weinman will move into a Vice Chairman role.

Locomote have pioneered the development of corporate travel technology in Australia.

Travelport’s investment is an integral part of its ongoing strategy to redefine travel commerce to address previously unmet needs — in this case through the provision of state of the art digital and mobile services for business travellers.

Gordon Wilson, Travelport’s President and CEO, said that after Travelport’s initial investment in Locomote in 2013, the move to a majority stake is consistent with the company’s ongoing drive to develop new digital services and mobile capabilities for the travel industry.

“Corporate travel needs and demands, content, and the demographic make-up of travellers are all changing rapidly. Travelport intends to be at the forefront of these changes as we deploy our content and technology assets to address them. Locomote, which approached the market with a clean slate and a fresh approach, is a key part of how we envision the future.”

Gordon Wilson, President and CEO, Travelport

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Gordon Wilson, President and CEO, Travelport

Philip Weinman, the new Vice Chairman of Locomote, said that the strengthened partnership between the two companies will support Locomote to continue its focus on driving an improved corporate travel experience and to grow on an international scale.

“We’re excited to be strongly aligned with a global leader in the travel technology industry, which shares our vision and with whom we have now successfully partnered for two years to bring new and innovative products to the market.”

Travelport put on a hugely successful Roadshow in Melbourne earlier this year, and the $2 billion company’s increased ownership of Locomote will no doubt further strengthen its market dominance in the years to come.

What do you think of the future of corporate travel technology in Australia? Let us know in the comments below.