Globetrotter is 100% owned again by the founders Walter Kamm and André Lüthi. They each got their 25% back from Diethelm Travel Holding, a subsidiary of the Diethelm Keller Group. “We have found a very friendly and good solution for our participation in Globetrotter,” said DK CEO Angelo van Tol Interview. TRAVEL INSIDE asked Globetrotter CEO André Lüthi what this looks like and where the company is headed now.
André Lüthi, investing in a travel company in Corona times is high risk. Did you and Walter Kamm get their shares back free of charge?
No! We paid a substantial amount for this.
Probably less than you got when you sold it eight years ago. Did you invest your own money or is the buyback financed by money from the company itself?
The capital comes from the two shareholders Kamm and Lüthi. We invest our own money because we believe in the future of the company and its employees.
How did the buyback come about, whose idea was that?
It came from both sides. We were always in conversation. One word gave the other. And we found a good solution.
Will you and Walter Kamm remain the sole owners or are you looking for more investors and fresh money?
As I said, the money comes from the shareholders. We see beloware not an investor. But if there is a request, we will certainly check it.
Is there enough money in the cash register, did you draw the Covid-19 loans?
Yes. For all 14 companies. Hopefully every company affected by the crisis has received this assistance from the federal government.
In the meantime you have also sold the Globetrotter stake in the German Explorer, which you owned together with Diethelm Travel. Why?
We focus on Switzerland. We weren’t looking for sales, that’s how it turned out.
What’s next with Globetrotter?
We are well positioned and fortunately have been profitable in recent years. Now we are forced to save massively and to become smaller. We took and communicated the corresponding measures in the summer. But as the crisis persists, we have to and have to keep going adapt the measures. If, however, a third wave of the corona pandemic comes next spring, then we and the entire industry will have a massive problem. But I am confident. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, the way there is still hard and long – but this way is part of the solution, not the problem.
(Interview: Christian Maurer)
