North East golfing brand Inta Group in buy-out

Dec 24 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

ONE of the region’s biggest golfing brands has been bought by a London-based company after going into liquidation and putting thousands of holidays at risk.

Gateshead-based Inta Group, which had built up a turnover of £16m - has seen its assets and brands purchased by London firm Your Golf Travel for a mere £100,000 after the firm was forced into liquidation as a result of plummeting sales.

Inta, which was set up 20 years ago by Hexham golfing enthusiast Bill Goff, had been blamed for trying to grow too quickly in the overseas golfing market, which had become a major victim of the recession.

Although the London company said that it had not made Inta’s 20-strong workforce redundant, it did say that it was closing its North East offices and giving staff the chance to re-apply for jobs in the capital.

Inta traded under a number of brands, including 3D Golf, Bill Goff Golf Tours, Longshot Golf Holidays and 4golf.com, with Your Travel Golf saying that it will rebrand the websites.

The London firm also said that it had not taken on any liabilities from Inta, with the deal including its assets only, and that it was providing a number of discounted packages for those holidaymakers that were unable to claim their money back from travel association ABTA following the demise of the Gateshead firm.

Your Golf Travel, which has a turnover of £17m and employs 65 staff, has capitalised on the poor performance of some of its rivals over recent months. It has bought four golfing holiday websites this year, rightclub ltd, uk-golfguide.com, Bluebay golf holidays and ifyougolf.com.

The purchase of Inta saw the London firm increase its database of clients by 200,000, which now makes it Europe’s largest golfing holiday company.

The firm said that the ‘staycation’ ethic among British holiday makers was helping to support its growth in domestic markets, while its overseas operations were still proving popular. Ross Marshall chief executive at Your Golf Travel, said: “Your Golf Travel is delighted to add these well renowned brands into our expanding portfolio and remains as committed as ever to offering golfers the best service, experiences and prices on the internet.”

The news of Inta’s liquidation in October shocked the business community after the firm’s rapid expansion – including a merger with Scottish operator 3D Golf had made it one of the fastest-growing in the sector.

Former chairman Mr Challen built Inta into one of the biggest golf tour operators in the country after buying Bill Goff Golf Tours from its founder, the former fruit and vegetable merchant and hotelier Bill Goff 15 years ago.