2005 a bumper year for KDS – double its client list and renews contracts with global fortune 500 companies

London, January 31st, 2006- KDS, the leading European provider of online business travel management solutions, has enjoyed strong business growth in FY 2005, with an impressive list of new customer agreements, which helped to convince our VC investors to make a further commitment of 11 million euros in October.

Corporations choose KDS for its expertise in international deployment
KDS has signed a European-wide agreement with Arcelor in the wake of other global strategic accounts including Alcatel, Airbus or Cendant TDS. KDS has also signed up Boston Scientific, a leading medical device manufacturer. The company has opted for the seamless Travel and Expense management solution for all its European subsidiaries.

Satisfied customers expanding collaboration with KDS
In 2005, several longstanding users of KDS solutions signed new agreements to extend deployment to other subsidiaries. After adopting KDS Corporate in the U.K., ING bank will now use it for subsidiaries in Belgium and the Netherlands. Shell will do the same with scheduled deployment in the Netherlands. BP has renewed confidence in KDS for a 3-year period, while Henkel has done likewise for 5 years.

Growth of market share in the U.K. and the United States
2005 saw significant growth of its international market share, particularly in the U.K. and the United States. In the U.K., KDS was successful in several major tenders, including Vodafone (with its partner Cendant), WPP, MARSH insurance, Pilkington and Corus. In the U.S., KDS now includes Yahoo! and Textron among its customers.

"Fast-paced growth in business performance comes in the context of a rapidly expanding market for self-booking tools. These new agreements confirms KDS’ leading position in the market, strengthening its presence in countries such as the U.K., Germany and the US, where KDS has had subsidiaries for several years," said Stéphane Donders, KDS SVP Sales & Marketing. "We are pleased to see that our longstanding customers recognize our leadership and are renewing their confidence with long-term investment in our solutions."

For several years now, KDS has established itself as the specialist in online business travel management solutions. More than 4,000 corporations use KDS solutions, including France’s top listed companies: Alcatel, Alstom, Airbus (EADS Group), Cap Gemini, Société Générale and Veolia Environnement.

In 2005, KDS signed twice as many agreements as the previous year. A high proportion of regular income gives KDS an extremely sound base for growth. What’s more business travel bookings made via KDS solutions tripled year-on-year.

KDS has enabled many Global 500 corporations to make a 5% to 10% cut in their travel spend, the first or second largest "non production" budget. Such results can contribute 0.5% of the bottom line for corporations using these solutions.