that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . august 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message club 18 30 type private industry package holidays founded 1968 headquarters peterborough england uk area served united kingdom spain greece parent thomas cook group website club 18 30 club 18 30 is a holiday company working from its head office in peterborough that provides holidays for people aged 17 35 in typical party island destinations . the original club 18.30 logo sunset and sea and subsequent logos and holiday brochures were designed by graphic designers nick ewart and mike williams . club 18 30 company was sold on to thomas cook and now takes around 110 000 guests each year with turnover of around 50m a year . the average age of guests is 19 citation needed and one third of customers are travelling on holiday without their parents for the first time . contents 1 history 2 destinations 3 controversies 3.1 advertisements 3.2 club reps on itv 4 references 5 external links history edit the company was set up in 1970 by the horizon group to offer package holidays targeted at young singles and couples to travel without families or children . the idea for starting club 18 30 came from paul latchman . initial promotion was low key even austere . to maximise the use of aircraft night flights were used . the first destination was lloret de mar on the costa brava . horizon group only received modest success and sold the company on to a management buyout in 1973 . subsequently during the 1970s the popularity of these holidays was increased by cut price air fares . furthermore an advertising campaign promoted attractions of people who were sexually active and could enjoy themselves in uninhibited alcohol fuelled ways . despite its notorious image the company was listed on stock exchange in 1980 . in 1982 it was acquired by international leisure group ilg and continued to grow and prosper . 1 in 1991 ilg collapsed and was taken over as a management buy out backed by venture capitalists county natwest ventures grosvenor capital and causeway capital in a transaction valued at 167 000 . after being briefly rebranded as the club due to regulatory rules precluding the use of the name for 3 years it reverted to the original name in 1994 . in 1995 the company was sold for around 9.75 m as a part of a bimbo with various venture capitalists including royal sun alliance and others and incorporated with sunset holidays and the newly formed airline flying colours . total deal 40m in 1998 thomas cook acquired flying colours for 57.5 m. club 18 30 was subsequently incorporated into thomas cook s jmc john mason cook brand of travel companies which included the operating brands flying colours sunworld sunset inspirations and caledonian airways . in 2002 following a strategic review of the business the management company up trips was formed to ensure that club 18 30 retained its dominant position in the youth market by providing a dynamic package offering . however by 2008 the uptrips management company dissolved with club 18 30 once more a key product within the thomas cook portfolio . destinations edit thomas cook s bradford city centre offices bulgaria sunny beach greece corfu kavos greece crete malia cyprus ayia napa spain ibiza sant antoni de portmany greece kos kardamena spain majorca magaluf greece zante laganas controversies edit advertisements edit in 1995 the company s sexually suggestive billboard advertising ruffled feathers with the advertising standards agency being the second most complained about firm of that year . the ads designed by saatchi & saatchi included beaver espana be up at the crack of dawn ... or julie ... or ... and it s not all sex sex sex . there s a bit of sun and sea as well . 2 they were the subject of an activist graffiti campaign in manchester 3 which succeeded in gaining local and national media attention . 4 5 club reps on itv edit since january 2002 the itv programme club reps made by stv productions and narrated by emma b and later lisa i anson unearthed the murky underworld of the life of a travel representative on club 18 30 holidays . it kept the daily mail awash with graphic stories citation needed . it also doubled bookings for club 18 30 holidays citation needed . in 2005 channel 5 showed a documentary called the curse of club 18 30 made by north one television . club 18 30 were not happy with the documentary and complained to ofcom . ofcom agreed that they had not been allowed to answer for themselves on the documentary but the other allegations made were not unfair . citation needed references edit matheson clare 19 august 2003 . club 18 30 s controversial past . bbc . retrieved 19 august 2003 . history of ad regulation . advertising standards authority . 2000 . stopping the club 18 30 billboard advert graffiti campaign . tracey sanderswood . 1995 . graffiti war on 1 4m holiday sex adverts . manchester evening news on sanderswood.com . 1995 . views clash on effect of sex ads for holidays . south manchester express advertiser on sanderswood.com . 1995 . external links edit club 18 30 v t e tourism in the united kingdom tourism economy of the united kingdom nations and regions england hotels in england lists of tourist attractions in england list of national trust land in england list of national trust properties in england london tourist board resorts in england tourism in leeds tourism in london tourism in yorkshire visitengland welcome to yorkshire northern ireland hotels in northern ireland list of museums in northern ireland nature reserves in northern ireland list of tourist attractions in ireland list of national trust properties in northern ireland northern ireland tourist board scotland lanarkshire area tourism partnership minister for energy enterprise and tourism resorts in scotland scotlandwhisky scottish youth hostels association visitscotland visitscotland.com wales capital region tourism forgotten landscapes project list of museums in wales south west wales tourism partnership tourism partnership north wales visit wales companies current ace cultural tours alan rogers travel group carnival corporation & plc cunard line city sightseeing cosmos holidays cox & kings ebookers.com ffestiniog travel flight centre great rail journeys hays travel hogg robinson group holidaybreak nst holidayextras.com kuoni travel lastminute.com martin randall travel pgl superbreak swan hellenic thomas cook group club 18 30 netflights tui group thomson holidays trailfinders traveleyes turquoise holidays wilderness journeys defunct clarksons travel group court line directline holidays easycruise first choice horizon travel kiss flights lunn poly mark hammerton mytravel palmair thomas cook & son xl leisure group organisations camping and caravanning club the caravan club national trust for places of historic interest or natural beauty youth hostels association industry bodies association of british travel agents association of independent tour operators british resort inspection agency confederation of tourism and hospitality tourism concern visitbritain tourist destinations blue badge tourist guide holiday les routiers list of airlines of the united kingdom list of airports in the united kingdom and the british crown dependencies list of museums in the united kingdom list of amusement parks in the united kingdom list of past and present youth hostels in england and wales category commons retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title club 18 30 & oldid 729964009 categories companies based in bradfordcompanies established in 1970travel and holiday companies of the united kingdomhidden categories articles with a promotional tone from august 2012all articles with a promotional toneuse dmy dates from july 2012use british english from july 2012all articles with 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