Shares of Manchester-based online holiday retailer On the Beach Group plc (OTB) rose as much as 9% after it published an encouraging trading update for the start of its financial year — October 1, 2022 to date — in advance of its AGM on Friday.

“Following a year of disruption in FY22, On the Beach began FY23 with a healthier overall forward order book than the prior financial year,” said the firm.

“Although the first quarter (calendar Q4) is historically the quietest trading period, Group TTV (total transaction value) for October, November and December 2022 exceeded the comparative months in FY22.

“Bookings since the Christmas period have materially increased and whilst it is still very early in the year, Group TTV since the start of the financial year to date is up 68% vs the equivalent period in FY22.

“The strategic actions taken by the Group in the current and prior financial year, have contributed to a continuation of the key trends observed in FY22, including growth in FY23 across premium, long-haul and B2B expansion areas.

“The Group has a strong balance sheet and, in line with its strategy, has significantly increased investment across the period and into January across brand, technology and its customer proposition, to support strong sales growth for summer 2023 departures and continue to build momentum for the second half of the year.”

On the Beach Group CEO Simon Cooper said: “It’s been pleasing to see the key trends we observed throughout FY22 continue into FY23, especially into our key booking period, which has resulted in Group TTV growing 68% against our prior year.

“We are significantly increasing investment in our brand, technology and customer proposition to capitalise on this momentum and grow our market share.”