Saga plc

Saga plc
Public
Traded as LSE: SAGA
Industry Insurance, Travel, Financial Services, Healthcare
Founded 1959
Headquarters Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom
Key people
 Andrew Goodsell, Non-Executive Chairman
Lance Batchelor, Group Chief Executive
Revenue £871.3 million (2017)[1]
£193.3 million (2017)[1]
£157.3 million (2017)[1]
Website www.corporate.saga.co.uk

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 and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The business was founded by Sidney De Haan in 1959 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, it was announced that Lance Batchelor, formerly head of Domino's Pizza, would be taking the role of CEO of the Saga Group ahead of a possible initial public offering (IPO). In May 2014, Saga Group was successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange as Saga PLC.[11]

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

Operations

Saga's operations include:[13]

  • Saga Holidays provides package holidays and tours across the globe. It owns and operates the cruise ships MS Saga Pearl and MS Saga Sapphire and also owns and operates the Bel Jou Hotel in St Lucia, as well as Titan Travel and luxury holiday company, Destinology.[14]
  • Saga Services provides a wide range of Insurance products, Motor, Home, Travel, Caravan, Commercial Van, Pet, Private Medical, Life Insurance, Motorhome and legal services.
  • 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 Healthcare, made up of four businesses; Country Cousins, Patricia White’s, Saga Care at Home and 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".[15] Founded by Paul Bach, under his editorship, it became Britain's biggest selling monthly magazine.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2017" (PDF). Saga Group. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  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 2009-11-14.
  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's holidays help lift revenues as car insurance decelerates". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Travel". Saga Corporate. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Saga magazine gets a new look". Wemakemagazines. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "Obituaries — Paul Bach". Telegraph Media Group Limited. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.


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