Last year the company bought two businesses in Australia and it is currently tendering for a third. Its forecast turnover this year is $1 billion.
Started in 1987 in Timaru, the House of Travel business has grown at the rate of about one new business every eight to 10 weeks.
Paulsen had sold his successful wholesale travel agency Scholes Oakley and was looking around for other opportunities in an industry that was changing and being deregulated.
