Sunday Times - 5 December 2010
Co-founders started golf tournament to support Help for Heroes
Maxing out their credit cards to the tune of £30,000 to fill a perceived gap in the market, Durham University friends Ross Marshall and Andrew Harding set up their company in 2005. Today it sells domestic, European and long-haul golf holiday packages to 150,000 people a year, offering a choice of 3,000 courses in 20 countries. The business also offers spa breaks, ranging from “overnight rebalancing rituals” to hen weekends, through its sister company Spabreaks.com. In addition, it recently launched fairwaytofurlong.com, a niche holiday concept that combines golf and horse-racing breaks at the country’s big meetings. As a result of acquisitions and marketing, sales, representing total transaction value, grew by 158% a year, from an annualised £955,000 in 2006 to £16.4m in 2009.
