Published: 13 Nov 2007

Previously covered by the Carrentals brand, the new ASAP Ventures group will continue to own and grow Carrentals.co.uk , together with new travel comparison site asap.co.uk, and accommodation listings directory Self-Catering-Breaks.com, while moving into additional non-travel markets. In the last financial year the Group reported sales revenue of over £8m, with the focus now on expanding its portfolio and growing its range of business operations in both travel and other consumer markets.

Part of its travel growth will come from the global expansion of the Carrentals.co.uk price comparison brand, which launched in Germany in October 2007, and is scheduled to launch elsewhere in Europe and Australia over the next six months.

Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003. Launched in 2007 asap.co.uk is a new travel price comparator, providing comparison of the best prices for flights, holidays, hotels and car hire around the world.

The launch of asap.co.uk "will also establish the Group as a major force in the online travel market", stated the company.

Strengthening the Group's travel management team are two new appointments – Claire Hayes joins from Opodo, where she was Head of Travel Products for two years, while Debbie Sowden joins from Holiday Autos where she was Acting Commercial Director.

Gareth Robinson, Marketing Director, ASAP Ventures, said: "Carrentals.co.uk has been incredibly successful for us, and we now want to mirror that success in other areas. To achieve this we needed to re-brand to support our increased scope across a range of travel services, ranging from car hire and flights to accommodation and package holidays.

"The new name supports our growth in the travel market, but will also help us develop additional online services in other consumer markets. This is the start of a very exciting phase of expansion for us, with new investments and services planned to increase our sales revenue to £20m next year, a target we are already on track to achieve."

Expansion into non-travel services has already begun with the purchase of Promos.co.uk, while additional brands are set to launch over the coming 12 months as the Group continues a programme of development and acquisition.