Services designed with you in mind
CallUma’s multilingual services have been designed to provide you with the ultimate in travel care products and overseas assistance services, right from your day of departure through to your return.
For individuals, business travellers or families our services can be hand-picked to suit you. Simply choose from our menu and enjoy the flexibility of designing the ultimate in travel care to make the most of your trip.

Whether we’re protecting your luggage with our high quality luggage tags and tracking service, providing help reporting a crime, finding a taxi firm, changing a flight or speaking to an overseas doctor – whatever you need, our team of experts is at the end of the phone to give you peace of mind that help is always at hand. And our selection of handy Extras complements the package by keeping you up-to-date with the latest flight, weather and travel information, allowing you to plan your days accordingly.

Help when you need it, information when you want it
CallUma takes pride in the way we take care of our customers by simply providing help when you need it and information when you want it. We do not hound you with unsolicited text messages and we don’t charge a premium rate to use any of our services. Whatever you choose, you can now travel with total peace of mind that you’ve got one phone number to call or text when you need help or information abroad, worldwide, 24 hours a day.

The people behind CallUma
Our Interpreters
Management Team
Code of conduct
Advisory/Investor Board
Group and Partners

The People Behind CallUma
The people behind CallUma have all been very successful in their business careers to date. Between them they have vast experience of starting businesses from scratch, growing them quickly and handling complex international operations, with sales into hundreds of millions (indeed billions) of pounds. They have all come together in the belief that if true globalisation of the world, its people and its businesses is to take place, then we must be able to communicate. By facilitating interpretation of the most commonly spoken languages in the world through the very latest telephony and internet technology, CallUma is setting out to unite the world. They have all invested substantial amounts of their own money behind this exciting enterprise to make travelling around our globe that much easier, safer and more interesting. This is why they believe that soon we will all CallUma when we need help abroad, just as naturally as we would search Google or click on to Yahoo.

Our Interpreters
Between them, our team of multilingual experts speak more than 87% of the world’s most widely spoken languages. We recruit the best in the industry and pride ourselves on the quality of our interpreters. All language qualifications, such as degree certificates in languages, interpretation and translation, have been fully verified prior to employment. In addition to their formal qualifications, all interpreters are fully trained to our highest standards and must attain the CallUma Certificate of Proficiency. All CallUma employees are expected to adhere to the CallUma Code of Conduct.

		Barry Bester, Executive Chairman - Barry has spent his career in the tile retailing business. He was a founder shareholder of Topps Tiles in 1984 and is today its Non-Executive Chairman. Having developed the initial business with about six stores, Topps Tiles floated on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 1997 and is today the UK's largest tile and wood flooring specialist with 309 stores in the UK. Using his many years of business experience in both the private and public company scene, Barry works with young companies and entrepreneurs in an advisory capacity.
		Tony Partridge, Chief Executive - Tony is a serial entrepreneur, having founded businesses in the UK, USA and Spain in a diversity of sectors including furniture retailing, home security and car retail. Whilst in Florida in the 1980’s he developed and launched the concept for the world’s first truly portable/ disposable child’s potty. Tony has spent the last 3 years evolving the CallUma concept – first launching the pilot in Spain in 2005 and then developing the service to cover 20 countries.
		Ian Salkeld, Finance Director - Having trained with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC), Ian qualified as ACA 26 years ago and since then has spent his career investing in/running private equity backed businesses. He spent 13 years with leading VC, ECI Ventures (8 as a partner) and subsequently became CEO of DVR, the UK’s largest direct TV and video rental operator (sold to Granada for £52m). As Finance Director of Cash A Cheque for 3 years he helped grow the chain from 11 to 70 outlets before selling to Dollar Financial in 1999. Ian holds an MA from Queens’ College, Cambridge.
		Stephen D Moss CBE, Non-Executive Director - Stephen has spent his entire career in the leisure industry, in both travel and hospitality. Over 18 years he built up BCP into the UK’s leading airport parking booking service, with sales of £45m, handling over 1 million bookings a year. He sold BCP in 2003 but remained at its helm until 2007. He is Chairman of London based property investor Grosvenor Securities and Founder/Chairman of Springboard, a charity promoting careers in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. Stephen is a former MD of Michelin rated Chelsea restaurant, Drakes, and a co-founder of 190 Queens Gate Plc with Antony Worrall-Thompson, Richard Shepherd and Roy Ackerman. Stephen read law at King’s College, London, was called to the bar at Gray’s Inn and holds a Masters from London Business School. He was awarded an MBE in 1992 and CBE in 2002.
		John Bevan, Non-Executive Director - John joined the CallUma board in January 2009 as a non-executive director. Prior to this John was lastminute.com UK managing director. He held a variety of roles within the lastminute.com group over eight years, including holiday director and then travel director. John joined lastminute.com following the acquisition of Online Travel Company (OTC), where he was marketing and product director and was responsible for a number of leading websites including bargainholidays.com, Onlinetravel.com, Ferrybooker.com and Ifyouski.com. He played a central role in the acquisition of the ifyoutravel brands – including ifyouski, ifyoudive and ifyougolf - and merging these brands within the OTC portfolio. Prior to OTC, John was at EMAP Digital Travel, where he rose through the ranks to reach the role of managing director, restructuring the company prior to its sale to OTC in June 2001. John started his career in travel as international sales director for hotel group Groupe Envergure
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Advisory / Investor Board
		Chris Allen - In 1999 Chris and 3 partners invested their savings to co-found what would become one of the most successful internet travel companies in Europe - laterooms.com. Over the next 6 years he presided over the rapid operational growth of the business to a level of 200 staff and over 1 million hotel bookings a year. With private equity support from ECI along the way, Chris led the successful sale of the business to First Choice Plc for £108m in 2006 and remains as Chief Executive, driving new areas of internet expansion. Chris’ earlier career was spent in operational roles with Greenalls/De Vere Group Plc, where he was a founding director of the Premier Lodge chain (now Premier Travel Inn).
		James Horler - James has spent a lifetime in the leisure business, initially with Forte Plc and then with City Restaurants Plc where, as MD, he grew the Frankie & Benny’s chain from 2 to 63 restaurants in 5 years. In 2001, backed by Penta Capital, he paid £28m for the 18 strong La Tasca Spanish tapas chain, growing it over 5 years to 83 outlets – including sister concepts La Vina and Sam & Maxxie’s, and opening operations in the USA. Following flotation in 2005 James continued as Chief Executive until retiring in May 2007 after the £135m sale of La Tasca Plc to Robert Tchenguiz/Laurel Pub Group. James has been the recipient of many awards from the hospitality industry and is currently Chairman of Leon, the fast growing healthy food chain and of Cartwheel Recruitment, a hospitality staffing business.
		Neil Utley - One of the leading figures in the motor insurance industry, Neil is Chief Executive of Equity Insurance Group/Hastings Direct (handling some 2 million policies a year). Having bought Equity (previously Cox Insurance Holdings Plc) off the stock market in 2004, he led its £540m sale to IAG of Australia the following year. In 1996, as CEO, Neil set up Privilege Insurance for Direct Line founder Peter Wood. Prior to that Neil was MD of the Colonnade Insurance brokers chain, with some 100 outlets.
		Neil Roe - Neil has been involved in building up and selling 4 pub chains over the last decade – Devonshire Pub Co, Paramount Plc, MGR Leisure and Pyramid Pub Company. As Managing Director of Pyramid (which was backed by RBS) between 2001 and 2006, he ran 400 pubs with operating profits of over £12m, exiting the business at the highest EBITDA multiple ever paid for a solus tenanted pub group. The first 11 years of his career were spent with Bass Plc where he rose through the ranks to become Commercial Director of Leisure Link (now Inspired Gaming Plc), the UK’s largest amusement machine operations business. Neil holds an MBA from Bradford University.
		Roger Moss – Roger is currently Managing Director of Grosvenor Securities, a substantial private UK and international property development and investment group, with a history of interests in offices, leisure, retail and hotels. He is the former Chairman of British Car Parks, the largest off-airport car park network operator in the UK and has a particular interest in the marketing and sales of new media oriented products. His early career was spent with Union Bank of San Francisco and the Trafalgar House Group. Roger holds a BSc in estate management
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Group Sites and Partners
CallUma is part of the GlobeLink group of companies, which offer translation and interpretation services to individuals and businesses across the world. We have many years of experience in translation and interpretation and over 700 interpreters working with us. We provide services to many business clients, including: The AA, Norwich Union, Towergate Insurance. Our partners include: ABTA, Bristol International Airport, The Co-operative Travel Trading Group, Teletext Holiays, Monster Travel, Expedia UK, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (Know Before You Go campaign), GB Privilege, Hays Travel, lastminute.com, London Luton Airport, The Travel Trust Association.