It took two years for him to master his new universe and to feel truly fulfilled.
Early 2024, François Lévêque buys Centrale Voyages. His daily life, which he had imagined as a succession of dreams on distant shores and discoveries of foreign cultures, runs into the reality of being a business travel ticketing specialist.
He told us at the time that he was getting to grips with unfamiliar terms, infinitesimal margins and a vocation that he described as a “hard, very technical” job.
Two years later, the man who has entrepreneurship in his blood is finally able to breathe easy.
“This profession wears me out, but I feel happy and fulfilled. I have finally put in place what I wanted, steered in a direction, and even if there is still much to learn, I feel good about it.
And last week, I had the immense honor of sharing breakfast with Jean-Noël Barrot, the minister of Foreign Affairs, and to visit the Quai d’Orsay. An incredible experience“, enthuses the man who, with Raphaël Torro, can proudly claim to be the tourism industry’s leading boss… at least in sheer size.
The industry and its networking open doors one would not expect. It also enables travel and, ultimately, preserves that explorer’s spirit and the big-child inside us all.
Above all, the sector remains a fantastic playground for entrepreneurs, starting with François Lévêque.
Early 2024, François Lévêque buys Centrale Voyages. His daily life, which he had imagined as a succession of dreams on distant shores and discoveries of foreign cultures, runs into the reality of being a business travel ticketing specialist.
He told us at the time that he was getting to grips with unfamiliar terms, infinitesimal margins and a vocation that he described as a “hard, very technical” job.
Two years later, the man who has entrepreneurship in his blood is finally able to breathe easy.
“This profession wears me out, but I feel happy and fulfilled. I have finally put in place what I wanted, steered in a direction, and even if there is still much to learn, I feel good about it.
And last week, I had the immense honor of sharing breakfast with Jean-Noël Barrot, the minister of Foreign Affairs, and to visit the Quai d’Orsay. An incredible experience“, enthuses the man who, with Raphaël Torro, can proudly claim to be the tourism industry’s leading boss… at least in sheer size.
The industry and its networking open doors one would not expect. It also enables travel and, ultimately, preserves that explorer’s spirit and the big-child inside us all.
Above all, the sector remains a fantastic playground for entrepreneurs, starting with François Lévêque.
Acquisition of Centrale Voyages: “the bride is always a little more beautiful than reality”
As we noted, the group posted 2024 revenue of 33 million euros with 33 employees, and the long-term target remained 50 million.
This target hasn’t changed, but the path to it required going through a phase that would have discouraged many others.
“When you take over a business, the bride is always a little more beautiful than reality.
And you always know there will be a rough patch afterward. When the company is at 100, it slides to 90 or 80, during the restructuring, and customers and staff closely tied to the former owner may leave.
The mistake to avoid is waiting for that storm to pass and for everything to return to normal. We rolled up our sleeves“, reinterprets the head of the company.
He then recruits a chief commercial officer, Christelle François, and Didier Caliari becomes the new business developer for the firm. Meanwhile, Valérie Jacomino, a long-time collaborator, takes on the role of chief executive of the group.
To read : Centrale Voyages expands its teams to “take off”
Once the rough patch was behind them and the teams were structured, Centrale Voyages was doing well and even managed to catch up on its backlog, about 15%, after the acquisition.
“We are in a phase where we are signing a large number of contracts in business travel.
That’s a good dynamic, even if I must note that the margins are clearly lower than what I was told when I signed the acquisition. It’s not that I was deceived; it’s just that the market is on a downward slope, particularly due to digital players. On top of that, there is a very clear economic pressure in France“, lays out the delighted owner.
This target hasn’t changed, but the path to it required going through a phase that would have discouraged many others.
“When you take over a business, the bride is always a little more beautiful than reality.
And you always know there will be a rough patch afterward. When the company is at 100, it slides to 90 or 80, during the restructuring, and customers and staff closely tied to the former owner may leave.
The mistake to avoid is waiting for that storm to pass and for everything to return to normal. We rolled up our sleeves“, reinterprets the head of the company.
He then recruits a chief commercial officer, Christelle François, and Didier Caliari becomes the new business developer for the firm. Meanwhile, Valérie Jacomino, a long-time collaborator, takes on the role of chief executive of the group.
To read : Centrale Voyages expands its teams to “take off”
Once the rough patch was behind them and the teams were structured, Centrale Voyages was doing well and even managed to catch up on its backlog, about 15%, after the acquisition.
“We are in a phase where we are signing a large number of contracts in business travel.
That’s a good dynamic, even if I must note that the margins are clearly lower than what I was told when I signed the acquisition. It’s not that I was deceived; it’s just that the market is on a downward slope, particularly due to digital players. On top of that, there is a very clear economic pressure in France“, lays out the delighted owner.
Centrale Voyages: “My main challenge is to develop leisure”
Be it in business travel or civil society, the world has changed rapidly, within just two years.
AI was then merely a buzzword, Donald Trump wasn’t even certain he could run for the American presidency, and Jordan Bardella was still just a TikToker.
“Back then, the profession and the companies had only one thing on their lips: CSR. Today, no one mentions it. The only words that bosses and decision-makers mouth are price and commission. Those are our only topics with our clients.
On this portion of the business travel, we are up and running. Now, my main challenge is to develop leisure“, he notes with a genuine smile.
This latter activity is not entirely marginal, but it does not account for more than 15% of his volume and must gain substantial momentum very quickly.
The diversification of activity is vital, especially when crises stack up. Yet it is not as easy as it seems. In taking over Centrale Voyages, François Lévêque quickly realized that leisure and business travel were completely hermetic – two distinct worlds.
He discovers that people who love business ticketing, or those who love leisure, never do both. They remain specialists in one segment. So, to grow, he develops and structures his internal operation.
“In terms of margin and cash flow, leisure is clearly more advantageous. Then, we will move into MICE, to have a three-legged stool on which to advance.
We are working on creating a website. For the classic tourism segment, we had no online platform.
We will rectify this anomaly during the summer. And since early May, we have been active on social media, where we are supported by Virginie Faivet, he confides.
The aim is to generate leads for travel agents. Above all, François Lévêque realizes that to move quickly, external growth is indispensable.
AI was then merely a buzzword, Donald Trump wasn’t even certain he could run for the American presidency, and Jordan Bardella was still just a TikToker.
“Back then, the profession and the companies had only one thing on their lips: CSR. Today, no one mentions it. The only words that bosses and decision-makers mouth are price and commission. Those are our only topics with our clients.
On this portion of the business travel, we are up and running. Now, my main challenge is to develop leisure“, he notes with a genuine smile.
This latter activity is not entirely marginal, but it does not account for more than 15% of his volume and must gain substantial momentum very quickly.
The diversification of activity is vital, especially when crises stack up. Yet it is not as easy as it seems. In taking over Centrale Voyages, François Lévêque quickly realized that leisure and business travel were completely hermetic – two distinct worlds.
He discovers that people who love business ticketing, or those who love leisure, never do both. They remain specialists in one segment. So, to grow, he develops and structures his internal operation.
“In terms of margin and cash flow, leisure is clearly more advantageous. Then, we will move into MICE, to have a three-legged stool on which to advance.
We are working on creating a website. For the classic tourism segment, we had no online platform.
We will rectify this anomaly during the summer. And since early May, we have been active on social media, where we are supported by Virginie Faivet, he confides.
The aim is to generate leads for travel agents. Above all, François Lévêque realizes that to move quickly, external growth is indispensable.
Centrale Voyages takes over the Agis agency in Montigny-le-Bretonneux…
As a newcomer, acquisition offers flood in.
Some slip away, and, after speaking with other sector leaders, it is particularly tricky to sense the right deal.
“At a regional EDV congress, as a joke, François Calvino announced in front of everyone that he would give away a point of sale for free to whoever wants it, because it costs him less to offer it than to close the agency.
In his premises, under his business benches in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, he had created an agency. This isn’t his passion and he never really dwelt on the subject to develop the affair.
We participated in a round table, we talked, we both work at Manor, the deal was concluded quickly“, recounts the new owner without mincing words.
The Agis agency in Montigny-le-Bretonneux generates a business volume of 1.2 million euros per year. Centrale Voyages has acquired the business and one employee, but the structure is set to grow further. In fact, the first recruit is planned within two weeks.
Marketing operations will be launched and the storefront will be redesigned to revitalize the activity of this location.
Moreover, in a few weeks, another acquisition is expected to be fully completed, still within leisure. This time, the agency is somewhat larger, with four employees and nearly 3 million euros of autoproduced activity.
Other avenues are being explored, such as the purchase of a mini-network.
“Margins are collapsing and the economic environment is rather negative… Nevertheless, I think it is precisely in these periods that one should strive to strengthen the business.
Moreover, we clearly see that the sector is at a crossroads, with many leaders nearing retirement without a buyer and sometimes preferring simply to close their sales points rather than selling them.
I am trying to take advantage of this to grow the tourism side of the group, while questioning the future of physical travel agencies“, explains François Lévêque.
Some slip away, and, after speaking with other sector leaders, it is particularly tricky to sense the right deal.
“At a regional EDV congress, as a joke, François Calvino announced in front of everyone that he would give away a point of sale for free to whoever wants it, because it costs him less to offer it than to close the agency.
In his premises, under his business benches in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, he had created an agency. This isn’t his passion and he never really dwelt on the subject to develop the affair.
We participated in a round table, we talked, we both work at Manor, the deal was concluded quickly“, recounts the new owner without mincing words.
The Agis agency in Montigny-le-Bretonneux generates a business volume of 1.2 million euros per year. Centrale Voyages has acquired the business and one employee, but the structure is set to grow further. In fact, the first recruit is planned within two weeks.
Marketing operations will be launched and the storefront will be redesigned to revitalize the activity of this location.
Moreover, in a few weeks, another acquisition is expected to be fully completed, still within leisure. This time, the agency is somewhat larger, with four employees and nearly 3 million euros of autoproduced activity.
Other avenues are being explored, such as the purchase of a mini-network.
“Margins are collapsing and the economic environment is rather negative… Nevertheless, I think it is precisely in these periods that one should strive to strengthen the business.
Moreover, we clearly see that the sector is at a crossroads, with many leaders nearing retirement without a buyer and sometimes preferring simply to close their sales points rather than selling them.
I am trying to take advantage of this to grow the tourism side of the group, while questioning the future of physical travel agencies“, explains François Lévêque.
… another acquisition in sight, with the objective of owning between 15 and 20 agencies!
The aim is straightforward: beyond growing the company and reaching a turnover of 50 million euros, he also wants to give the group a sense of purpose and a future.
To that end, the leader appears to have a fairly clear plan of action.
“I must expand my client portfolio, while pursuing a strategy of premiumising the products. I would like to build a leisure agency network of between 15 and 20 outlets.
My conviction from the start has been to seek people who have money, love travel, but don’t have much time to organise their holidays or don’t want to do it themselves.
These people are willing to pay for it. In return, they must receive an extraordinary service, with constant availability and total dedication“, envisages Centrale Voyages’ chief.
Once this development is complete, in a few years, he will be able to breathe a little and set new objectives.
In the meantime, the battle is far from over. The new tourism player fights every file to stand out and secure the signatures needed to ensure the activity’s long-term viability.
“My role, as an entrepreneur, is to grow the business commercially, bring in money so the shop keeps running. Then, it is to structure so that once the momentum is created, the group can run without you. This frees up time to start new projects, such as MICE, which will be the next major project, and to gain perspective. My dream is that, in five years, the company will be perfectly structured, it will grow on its own, that I will not be needed for any position and I can travel.
Until then, as I often say, I am happy and I follow the guidance of a close friend in the sector who told me: you will work like a dog, you will never be rich, but take the opportunity to explore the world and seize the chances to travel.
I have clearly decided to follow his good advice,” concludes the leader.
To that end, the leader appears to have a fairly clear plan of action.
“I must expand my client portfolio, while pursuing a strategy of premiumising the products. I would like to build a leisure agency network of between 15 and 20 outlets.
My conviction from the start has been to seek people who have money, love travel, but don’t have much time to organise their holidays or don’t want to do it themselves.
These people are willing to pay for it. In return, they must receive an extraordinary service, with constant availability and total dedication“, envisages Centrale Voyages’ chief.
Once this development is complete, in a few years, he will be able to breathe a little and set new objectives.
In the meantime, the battle is far from over. The new tourism player fights every file to stand out and secure the signatures needed to ensure the activity’s long-term viability.
“My role, as an entrepreneur, is to grow the business commercially, bring in money so the shop keeps running. Then, it is to structure so that once the momentum is created, the group can run without you. This frees up time to start new projects, such as MICE, which will be the next major project, and to gain perspective. My dream is that, in five years, the company will be perfectly structured, it will grow on its own, that I will not be needed for any position and I can travel.
Until then, as I often say, I am happy and I follow the guidance of a close friend in the sector who told me: you will work like a dog, you will never be rich, but take the opportunity to explore the world and seize the chances to travel.
I have clearly decided to follow his good advice,” concludes the leader.
Having become an indispensable pause, free time now tends to lengthen as our societies evolve. After 1936 and the 15 days of paid holidays finally granted to workers, the third week appeared in 1956, and the fourth week was granted in 1969, within the social gains package of May ’68.
