Acquisition(s)

10 June 2002 ONLINE TRAVEL CORPORATION PLC ANNOUNCES NEW ACQUISITION Online Travel Corporation plc ('OTC'), the travel technology and distribution group, announced today that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of Travelstore.com Limited ('Travelstore'), Oxford Technology Solutions Limited ('OTS'), Amersham Travel Limited ('Amersham') and Equator-net Limited for a consideration of £2.1million which is being satisfied by the issue of 7.2 million new ordinary shares of 1p. Travelstore, OTS, Amersham and Equator-net Limited are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Travelstore.com Group plc. Travelstore provides travel management services to the business travel sector. In the year to 31 March 2002, per management accounts, Travelstore generated gross sales of £18.1 million with a gross margin of £1.7 million, and a loss before interest, tax and depreciation of £73,000. OTS, which provides booking technology and Internet based travel management systems, made a loss in the year to 31 March 2002 before interest, tax and depreciation of £1.9 million. Travelstore and OTS together incurred non-continuing board and advisor costs of £0.5million and technology costs of £0.8million. The employee head count in the two companies has reduced from ninety in April 2001 to fewer than fifty at the time of acquisition. OTC intends to combine Travelstore with its existing business travel division, Joint Venture Travel, with Travelstore.com as the principal brand for existing and new business travel customers. Mark Jones, CEO of OTC, commented: 'We believe that Travelstore has the most advanced business travel management technology in Europe and that both sets of customers will benefit from the best technology and best support services. We expect the combined business division to achieve volume related margin improvements and cost efficiencies by the elimination of cost duplication.' Jones also commented on the prospects for the online business travel sector. 'As companies look at more efficient ways to manage their travel spend, they are starting to recognise the benefits of Internet travel management, particularly in technology solutions that combine and compare no frills airlines with traditional airlines. The online business travel sector has to date lagged behind the leisure sector and our business division has showed limited growth in the last six months, compounded by the general downturn in the travel sector in recent months. Recent interest from business customers suggests it may be time for a little catch up and with travelstore.com on board we expect to take full advantage.' Raul A. Arce, CEO of Travelstore added 'We have developed one of the world's leading corporate self booking tools, specifically designed for the needs of the European market. Our use of the latest technologies, including J2EE and XML, has enabled us to build a product that is extremely stable and reliable. The combination of the OTC and Travelstore suite of travel solutions will be of tremendous benefit to both leisure and corporate customers.' Application has been made for the 7.2 million new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, and dealings are expected to commence on 1 4 June 2002. For further information contact: Online Travel Corporation Plc Mark Jones, CEO Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 8607 9281 Noble & Company Limited Alasdair Robinson Tel: 00 44 (0) 131 225 9677 Durlacher Limited Matthew Robinson Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 7459 3600 Cardew & Co. Richard Fallowfield Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 7930 0777 Notes for Editors Online Travel Corporation, plc OTC is a travel technology and distribution business, providing a comprehensive range of technological solutions, travel products and ancillary travel services to ISP's, Media and Affinity Groups and Corporate Organisations. It provides bespoke technology solutions linked to its wide product range to produce a one-stop travel service through the Internet, supported by telephone call centres for leisure and corporate clients to fulfil their travel needs. OTC provides a comprehensive range of travel products and ancillary travel services and is both a travel agent and tour operator. OTC strategy focuses on low-cost routes to market with lower customer acquisition costs compared to that of a mass-market consumer brand and is focused on selected business areas. OTC has launched over 100 travel sites in the last 18 months and via these partner sites has access to a potential customer base of over 16 million online users. OTC is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Additional information is available at www.onlinetravelcorporation.com