Business
Henrik Kjellberg named CEO of European Vacation Rentals business recently acquired by Platinum Equity from Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

- Former Hotwire and Expedia president takes reins at Europe’s largest manager of holiday rentals
- The group comprises of multiple leading brands including, Landal Green Parks, Novasol, Cottages.com, Hoseasons, James Villa Holidays and Friendly Rentals
Henrik Kjellberg, former president at Expedia, has been appointed group chief executive of the European Vacation Rentals business acquired by Platinum Equity from Wyndham Worldwide earlier this year.
Already an industry leader, the business is the largest manager of holiday rentals in Europe, operating in over 600 destinations in more than 25 countries through its local brands which include Landal Green Parks, Novasol, Cottages.com, Hoseasons, James Villa Holidays and Friendly Rentals. This appointment, with immediate effect, comes at a significant time for the company as it embarks on the next phase of its growth trajectory, which will see major investment in technology innovation.
The European Vacation Rentals business will also undergo a rebrand within the coming months to redefine the group’s identity, alongside ongoing investment in its existing consumer-facing brands.
Kjellberg has spent more than twenty years working in global positions for travel and technology brands, including serving as president of Hotwire and Expedia Group’s affiliate network (EAN), where he was responsible for Expedia Group’s global affiliate and partnership deals. Kjellberg also served as president of Expedia Asia, and was chairman of the Chinese travel company eLong Inc.
Daniel Madden, Principal and head of Portfolio Operations at Platinum Equity in Europe commented: “Amongst other areas, Henrik brings a wealth of experience in Product, Technology, Customer and Partner Service, Innovation and Distribution. As an investor we will support the organic as well as acquisitive growth ambitions of the business and we look forward to partnering with Henrik on this journey.”
Henrik Kjellberg commented: “I have always admired the success of the European Vacation Rentals business established by Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. The group and its local brands have a long-standing heritage of delivering unrivalled experiences across Europe.
“Under the new ownership, I’m looking forward to working with the leadership teams within each of the brands to capitalise on our success to date and the tremendous growth opportunities available, and to continue to deliver the kind of experiences and services our guests, homeowners and partners have come to expect from our family of brands.”
Business
Thomson Reuters fourth-quarter revenue, adjusted earnings rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Thomson Reuters Corp reported higher fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday and said it would start a two-year program that will change it from a holding company to an operating company.
The news and information company, which owns Reuters News, said revenues rose 2% to $1.62 billion, while its operating profit jumped more than 300% to $956 million, reflecting the sale of an investment, a gain from an amendment to pension plan and lower costs.
Its three main divisions, Legal Professionals, Tax & Accounting Professionals and Corporates, all showed higher organic quarterly sales and adjusted profit.
It was not immediately clear if adjusted earnings per share of 54 cents were directly comparable to the 46 cents expected.
Thomson Reuters’ markets are healthy and evolving, making this a good time to transition the company from a content provider to a “content-driven technology company,” Chief Executive Steve Hasker said in a statement.
Workplaces have been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic and artificial intelligence has a larger role in professional markets, he said.
(Writing by Nick Zieminski in New York, editing by Louise Heavens and Jane Merriman)
Business
Tesla shares set to skid into the red for the year

LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in Tesla were set to plunge into the red for the year on Tuesday, hit by a broad selloff of high-flying technology stocks and the fall of bitcoin, in which the electric carmaker recently invested $1.5 billion.
By 1029 GMT, Tesla was down over 8% in U.S. premarket deals after a similar drop during the previous session. The firm led by Elon Musk has had a stellar ride since 2020, which it began at about $85 per share, before reaching the $900 mark on January 25.
Currently trading at about $657 in pre market transactions, the stock has lost 27% from its peak, which is above the 20% level which technically defines a bear market.
Bitcoin has also swung into a bear market, falling from a peak of $58,354 on February 21 to a low of $45,000 earlier on Tuesday.
A Germany-based trader said he was “taking chips off the table” on Tesla as its 1.5 billion investment in the cryptocurrency could “backfire now”.
Analysts at Barclays noted that there has been a drop of conversations about the electric car makers in the Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, which could explain some of the loss of appetite for the stock.
“With only 2-3 total submissions on each of the past several days, we remain below the trend in attention that has come along with big returns jumps in the past”, the analysts said in note.
Other analysts have also cautioned against investing in the stock which remains one of the most expensive on the S&P 500 index at 163 times its 12 month forward earnings.
Graphic: Tesla shares selloff after multi-fold gains
(Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
Business
H&M, IKEA and Stora Enso backed TreeToTextile builds sustainable fibre demo plant

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A venture part-owned by Finnish forestry group Stora Enso, Sweden’s H&M and IKEA said on Tuesday it was set to build a demonstration plant in Sweden for a new, more sustainable wood-based textile fibre after years of research.
To markedly reduce their climate footprint and pollution, large apparel and furniture brands are in dire need of affordable greener alternatives to cotton, traditional viscose and polyester. Several Nordic pulp makers are part of projects developing new clean ways https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nordics-forestry-idCAKCN0WF076 to turn trees into textile fibre.
TreeToTextile said in a statement its plant would have a production capacity of 1,500 tonnes and its owners would fund the bulk of the 35 million euro ($42.6 million) investment.
“The novel process is deliberately designed to have low energy demand and low chemical need. It is engineered to suit large scale production and includes a recovery systemfor reusing chemicals,” it said.
“By investing in a demonstration plant, we are finally on the go. With it we are turning years of R&D into reality to increase the biobased share on the textile market to support climate action.”
TreeToTextile, whose fourth part-owner is innovator Lars Stigsson, said the plant would be located at Stora Enso’s Nymolla mill in Sweden, and its construction would start in the near future.
Viscose is the main existing textile fibre from wood pulp – followed by the newer lyocell which has a cleaner manufacturing method. Production is dominated by Austria’s Lenzing, India’s Aditya Birla and China’s Sateri.
($1 = 0.82 euros)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Angus MacSwan)