KUALA LUMPUR: Yes Group Management Bhd is eyeing higher returns from Europe’s ground transportation market through plans to buy commercial vehicles and establish a UK operating base.
Managing director Angela Mak Shau Kwan said the UK will serve as a strategic hub for the group’s operations, allowing it to supply vehicles to key Western European destinations.
“UK is an international hub for the European market. When we purchase a vehicle there, we are not only renting it out in the UK, but also to Germany and Western Europe,” she said at a press conference after its prospectus launch.
Mak illustrated that if the group acquires commercial vehicles, including 16-to-21-seater Sprinter coaches, each vehicle is estimated to cost between £110,000 and £140,000.
She said the investment may offer better rental income potential compared with similar investments in Malaysia.
“With the same amount of investment, if we purchase a coach in Malaysia, it may cost RM600,000 to RM700,000, with rental rates of around RM2,000 per day.
“In the UK, we can charge up to £5,000 to £6,000 per day,” she said.
Mak said the expansion will also reduce the group’s reliance on local third-party ground transportation providers, which currently charge margins of between eight and 10 per cent.
“Our ground transportation services are currently assigned to local partners in Europe, whom we have worked with for years. Of course, they also need to earn a margin.
“We want to reduce costs across all segments. These partners charge margins of between eight and 10 per cent, which we could save by establishing our own office there,” she said.
Mak added that the group will primarily focus on Western Europe, including popular destinations such as Paris, London, Italy and Amsterdam.
She said vehicle deployment will depend on demand and rental costs, as Eastern European markets offer rental rates about 20 per cent cheaper.
Meanwhile, Mak said rising oil prices have increased travel costs, but the group will pass the additional expenses on to corporate clients rather than absorb them.
“When we give quotations to clients, we base them on the prevailing currency exchange rates and oil prices.
“As long as we provide our clients with the previous quotation and updated oil prices in black and white, we will automatically top up the difference,” she said.
She said clients will be given time to obtain management approval for the additional costs.
On demand, Mak said the group’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) business continue to grow, supported by the expansion of Malaysia’s industry.
“According to our independent market research report, the MICE industry’s value has increased almost threefold, from RM6 billion in 2022 to around RM18 billion in 2025,” she said.
She acknowledged that geopolitical tensions had affected European incentive travel earlier this year, resulting in some trips being postponed.
However, she said the group’s order book shows that demand for European tours was recovering.
“Europe will always be a branded destination. It ranks among the preferred destinations for high-performing employees,” she said.
Mak said the group’s customised incentive travel approach involves designing itineraries based on the demographic profiles of corporate clients’ employees.
She said the group also considered participants’ ethnic composition, including the proportions of Chinese, Indian and Malay travellers, to ensure activities and arrangements suited each group.
Mak said this approach allowed the company to create more personalised experiences rather than offer standard travel packages.
Separately, Yes Group plans to establish Yes Academy, which will initially offer structured training programmes rather than diploma or degree qualifications.
“Currently, there is no one offering these courses yet. We believe there is very good potential for us to nurture the next generation and equip them with the relevant industry skills,” she said.
The group is targeting a break-even point of 100 students annually, requiring approximately three to four classes.
Mak said the first intake was expected to begin nine months after the group’s listing, in its next financial year.
Yes Group, which operates under the Yes Travel brand, has been operating since 2008, focusing on customised corporate incentive travel and event planning and management solutions.
The group operates exclusively on a business-to-business model, focusing on multinational corporations, government-linked companies and publicly listed companies rather than the retail travel market.
The group is scheduled to list on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market on Nov 26.