Record results for NLTG - concept hotels and AI in focus moving forward

These are some of the factors behind the record results for 2025 for Petter Stordalen's Nordic Leisure Travel Group (NLTG), which includes Ving among others. The company is now heavily investing in AI and even more concept hotels, and is also opening up for a stock market listing - if the owners wish.

It was our then-owner, the British Thomas Cook plc, that went bankrupt partly because they missed the digitalisation train and made a number of catastrophic acquisitions. The Nordic part was always very profitable, but quickly needed a new owner.

During the period 2007-2018, Ving had a profit margin of between 8 and 10 percent, but the then-owner, the British Thomas Cook plc, went bankrupt in 2019 partly because they missed the digitalisation train and made a number of catastrophic acquisitions. The Nordic part was always very profitable, but quickly needed a new owner. The company was saved in 2019 by Petter Stordalen's Strawberry Group together with the private equity firms Altor and TDR Capital. The result was the Nordic Leisure Travel Group, whose first challenge was the corona pandemic with a drop in turnover and disastrous results as a consequence.

The latest financial statement, however, shows more positive figures. The turnover for the latest financial year increased by half a billion kronor to 16.8 billion kronor. At the same time, the group's result after financial items amounted to 540 million kronor, which is a significant improvement compared to previous years. This pleases NLTG's CFO Per Knudsen.

- The last four years we have made a fantastic turnaround. We have strengthened the cash reserves by about 3 billion kronor and are now debt-free after the last covid loans were repaid this February, says Per Knudsen to Travel News.

In September 2025, the equity amounted to just over 1 billion kronor, while the solvency increased to 13.4 percent, from 6.5 percent the previous year.

- We have now put covid behind us and are heading towards historic profitability. In short, we now earn more per trip than before. This is due to higher prices for hotels and airline seats as a result of inflation and a weak krona. At the same time, we have improved capacity utilisation in the aircraft fleet. Additionally, the business area of dynamically packaged scheduled trips reached its highest result ever, says Per Knudsen.

Dynamically packaged scheduled trips now account for 10 percent of NLTG's total turnover. The destinations London, Paris, and Barcelona are the largest in terms of the number of guests, while the Maldives and Mauritius are the largest in terms of turnover.

- This is a very good complement to our core business when it is not suitable for us to fly with our own charter flights. It is good both for increasing relevance among our customers and for being able to take a larger share of the holiday market. We have the greatest growth in the regular business, but we believe that our original charter business will continue to be the base of our operations, he says.

However, NLTG's results include one-off items totalling 318 million kronor, mainly related to the sale of the concept hotel Sunwing Arguineguín in Gran Canaria to the company Premia Properties. The price tag was 64 million euros and the reported sales profit was 312 million kronor.

- NLTG is not a real estate company. Our expertise lies in operating and developing our own unique hotel concepts. Just as we do not own our aircraft fleet, we do not need to own all properties either. Now we have found a very good partner in the form of the Swedish-Greek Premia, which is a long-term and professional owner of a number of our hotel properties, he says.

Concept hotels are something that NLTG continues to invest heavily in. An example being launched this summer is LiveEz, a hotel concept for adults. The margin for the group's own concept hotels is more than twice as high as for external hotels, largely due to all the additional sales in everything from food and drink to spa.

- In addition, we have a very high occupancy rate at these hotels as we have fixed travel lengths of one, two, or three weeks with fixed arrival and departure days, says Per Knudsen and continues:

- We want to significantly expand our portfolio of unique hotel concepts. The biggest limitation today is the availability of new attractive concept hotels in popular destinations such as the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and Thailand, as well as the availability of flight capacity to other attractive destinations in Europe, he says.

The company notes that demand for its products is strong, and on an annual basis, the occupancy on flights is already just over 97 percent.

- High capacity utilisation has always been a central part of our business model, but when there is strong demand, we can also increase our margins. We also see that we can sell more additional products to our customers, everything from insurance and meal packages to excursions and duty-free on our flights. There is also great potential for further growth thanks to AI, he says.

What specifically do you see that AI could help with?

- It is mainly about making it easier for the customer, for example, to book add-ons or otherwise personalise their trip. At the same time, we use AI to streamline internal processes such as content production, translations, and customer service. It can also involve smart solutions at airports, such as finding the right bus and seeing where the bus is located. Everything, of course, in combination with human service, he says.

As NLTG now shows profit and a strengthened balance sheet, the next question also approaches: how and when the owners will exit - where a stock market listing is a possible route.

- Petter Stordalen has been clear that his perspective is very long-term. Altor and TDR have a different business model and want to exit at some stage, and this can happen in several different ways, he says.

What speaks for and against a stock market listing being possible already this year?

- This is primarily a question for our owners. Historically, we can state that companies with a similar ownership structure to NLTG have in some cases been listed, while others have been sold on to new owners, he says.

Finally, how are you affected by the crisis and the war in the Middle East? - For the spring and a large part of the summer season, our need for aviation fuel is hedged, which means that the conflict has a fairly limited effect. But if the situation continues with persistently high prices for aviation fuel, we will need to increase our prices to cover the higher fuel costs. This is an industry phenomenon, so we generally anticipate higher prices for airline seats. Several airlines have already introduced fuel surcharges, says Per Knudsen.

Fact: Nordic Leisure Travel Group (NLTG) is the Nordic region's leading holiday group and consists of the tour operators Ving (Sweden/Norway), Globetrotter, Spies (Denmark), and Tjäreborg (Finland). The group also includes the airline Sunclass Airlines and the hotel company Resorts & Hotels, which operates its own concepts such as Sunwing Family Resorts, Ocean Beach Club, and Sunprime Hotels