AUSTRALIA: Travelport Takes Control Of Travel Firm Locomote

Travel commerce platform Travelport has taken a controlling stake in Australian travel tech start-up Locomote.

It has upped its stake in the company to 55% and installed a new CEO.

It named Sandra McLeod, previously Travelport group vice president for global accounts and corporate development, as Locomote's new chief executive.

Melbourne based Locomote is a business travel and expense platform with about 200,000 corporate users.

"We're introducing Locomote to a range of partners around the world who are interested in using its product with their corporate travel customers. When they understand that the business is backed both financially, strategically and technically by Travelport, it gives them an entry point that they otherwise wouldn't have had," said Travelport chief executive Gordon Wilson.

"With Locomote, we knew we needed a better proposition for corporate travellers and we wanted a next generation capability to do it."

With the backing of Travelport, Locomote will push ahead with expansion plans throughout Asia and will also offer solutions for leisure travellers, said founder and vice chairman Philip Weinman.

"We're looking at a very significant opportunity in the Malaysian market where we'll take the technology we've built and offer it as a leisure solution for people who want to travel for holidays and add extra components like booking hotels, cars and tours all in one," Weinman said.