Djoser
Herman van der Velde
Sale of Djoser to Holidaybreak Plc.
Herman van der Velde never completed his Egyptology studies
atLeidenUniversity.TheconsequencesofthefirsttriptoEgypt
he organised as a student in 1985 completely overwhelmed him.
`I had no intention to start my own company. I just thought that if
I took along a few people, it should cover my expenses', explains
Van der Velde from Djoser's historical premises in the centre of
Leiden.
I just thought: if I take along a few people, it should
cover my expenses
Except for a little experience as a guide, he entered the travel
world as a complete beginner. A small ad in the Volkskrant along
withaleaflet-financedwiththereturnmoneyonbeerempties
fromhisstudentflat-immediatelyattracted120customers.`SoI
rang up KLM to book 120 seats to Cairo. Of course they required
a deposit of 300 guilders a head, which I obviously did not have.
Finally, Royal Jordanian decided to take a chance on us.' The
following year, the travellers who had enjoyed the Egypt excursion
returned to enquire about trips to Turkey and Indonesia. `The
next thing you knew I was off to immerse myself in those cultures
and make contacts with hotels and travel agents.' Most of Van
der Velde's network from those days is still intact, including his
relationship with Royal Jordanian.
Teamwork
Three years later Djoser named after an Egyptian pharaoh
was a serious business and Van der Velde had relocated his
office from his student accommodation to a houseboat. Since
finding that gap in the market, Djoser has never stopped
growing. Fifteen years into the story Djoser's thirty-strong
staff now annually book group trips for more than 20,000
holidaymakers. Behind the adventurous nature of these trips
and Van der Velde's infinite energy and creativity stands an
extremely efficient and professional company. Van der Velde
sketches the business culture: `Everyone in the office an-
swers the phone, books trips and is individually responsible
for a selection of countries. Everything else is either auto-
mated or outsourced. And everybody helps the courier unload
the brochures, including me.'
How dare they!
Their success did not go unnoticed in the travel market. The
takeover offer made to Van der Velde was swiftly binned -
unanswered. `It felt like a wedding proposal out of the blue. An
insult really. I mean, how dare they?' But others continued to court
him, and Van der Velde slowly came round to the idea. `It did
make me stop and think, and after a while I began to enjoy the
attention. After a year or so I was ready to deal, to free up some
time to explore different avenues: something other than the
24/7 demanded by Djoser.'
I entered a world full of suits, but we soon got used to
each other
Enter Holland Corporate Finance
Taking the advice of his bank, he knocked on the door of
Holland Corporate Finance. `I entered a world full of suits, but
we soon got used to each other.' Van der Velde made it clear
a new owner would have to accept Djoser as it was. `After all,
they were entering into a relationship with my company and the
people who worked there. I didn't want a buyer who'd simply
crankuptheprofitstomakeaquickreturn,sellupandthen
disappear. Not with my company.' Finally a deal with the British
group Holidaybreak was sealed, and Djoser continues to operate
relatively independently today.
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