Saga plc

Saga is a British company focused on serving the needs of those aged 50 and over. It has 2.7 million customers. The company operates from several sites on the Kent and Sussex coast: four in Folkestone at Middelburg Square, Enbrook Park, Cheriton Park and Ross Way; the fifth at the Eurokent Business park in Ramsgate, and the newest at Priory Square in Hastings.[2][3][4] It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Saga plc
TypePublic
LSE: SAGA
IndustryInsurance, Travel, Financial Services
Founded1951
Headquarters
Folkestone, Kent
,
United Kingdom
Key people
Patrick O’Sullivan, Chairman
Euan Sutherland, Group Chief Executive Officer
Revenue£860.1 million (2018)[1]
£178.7 million (2018)[1]
£145.1 million (2018)[1]
Websitecorporate.saga.co.uk

History

The business was founded by Sidney De Haan in 1951 and was passed to his son Roger De Haan who took over in 1984 after his father's retirement.[5] Saga was acquired by staff (20%) backed by the private equity firm Charterhouse in October 2004.[6] Saga merged with The AA (owned by CVC and Permira) to form Acromas Holdings.[7]

In July 2011, Saga acquired Allied Healthcare. On 31 January 2015, it wrote it down to zero, and then sold it, at a small net profit, to Aurelius Group in December 2015.[8][9][10]

In May 2014, Saga Group Ltd was successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange as Saga PLC.[11]

Also in 2014, Saga acquired Bolton based luxury holiday company, Destinology.[12]

In January 2020, Saga appointed Euan Sutherland as CEO of the Saga Group. At the same time, Saga's escorted touring brand Titan Travel was put up for sale, but has subsequently been paused due to the ongoing impact of Coronavirus.[13]

In February 2020, Saga sold its motorcycle insurance business, Bennetts, to Atlanta Investment Holdings Ltd, part of the Ardonagh group, for £26 million.[14]

In March 2020, Saga sold its Patricia White's and Country Cousins domiciliary care agencies to private equity firm Limerston Capital for a reported £14 million.[15]

In June 2020 Saga Care at Home permanently closed and its assets assigned to another care provider. This marked the end of Saga's involvement in the homecare sector.

Operations

Saga's operations include:[16]

  • Saga Holidays provides package holidays and tours across the globe. It owns and operates the cruise ships Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure[lower-alpha 1], as well as Titan Travel and luxury holiday company, Destinology.[18]
  • Saga Services provides a wide range of Insurance products, Motor, Home, Travel, Caravan, Commercial Van, Pet, Private Medical, Life Insurance, Motorhome.
  • Saga Personal Finance provides savings accounts, credit cards, travel money, financial advice, equity release, share dealing, annuities, life assurance & long term care funding advice.
  • Saga SOS Personal Alarms.
  • Saga also owns direct mail and fulfilment service, Metro Mail.

Magazine

Saga operates a subscription magazine, Saga Magazine, with a circulation of 627,000 and a readership of one million per month; it has been described as the "United Kingdom's biggest selling monthly subscription title".[19] Founded by Paul Bach, under his editorship, it became Britain's biggest selling monthly magazine.[20]

Notes
  1. Her keel was laid on 3 June 2019 and she was delivered on 29 September 2020, but in response to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Saga has postponed her inaugural cruise until 4 May 2021.[17]

References
  1. "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Saga Group. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  2. Saga Group Limited
  3. "MetroMail". metromail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. "Welcome to Saga. Over 50s Insurance, Holidays, Magazine and More". www.saga.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. "Saga Holidays founder dies". BBC. 18 February 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  6. "Saga sale nets £1.2bn for founder's son". The Telegraph. 5 October 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  7. Goodman, Matthew (23 September 2007). "Equity windfall for Saga and AA staff". The Sunday Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  8. "Allied Healthcare International Inc. to Be Acquired by Saga Group Limited". Market wired. 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  9. "Saga Sells Allied Healthcare Business To Aurelius For GBP19 Million". Morning Star. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  10. "Saga Sells Allied Healthcare". Care Management Matters. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  11. "Saga PLC company summary". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  12. "Saga takes majority stake in Destinology". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. "Saga pauses Titan Travel sale due to coronavirus – reports". TTG.
  14. HancocksMon, Simon; Feb 2020, 17. "Saga sells Bennetts Motorcycle insurance for £26m". Visordown.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. "Sale of introductory care agencies, Trading Update – Company Announcement - FT.com". markets.ft.com.
  16. "Saga's holidays help lift revenues as car insurance decelerates". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  17. "Spirit of Adventure cruise ship". www.saga.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  18. "Travel". Saga Corporate. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  19. "Saga magazine gets a new look". Wemakemagazines. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  20. "Obituaries — Paul Bach". Telegraph Media Group Limited. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
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