North East holiday company Hays Travel has made what it says is its most significant acquisition since its rescue of Thomas Cook.
The Sunderland-based independent travel agency – the Ƶ’s largest – has bought cruise travel specialist Victoria Travel Group Limited and its brands cruise.co.uk and Seascanner as well as its German division Kreuzfahrtberater.de, in an undisclosed deal. The Redditch-based group with a 270-strong workforce is said to have reported a total transaction value – a common measure of revenue in the travel sector – of £252m in its most recent financial year.
Hays said those numbers reflect a strong market presence and customer loyalty in the Ƶ and Germany. Victoria is also said to have a strong digital-first approach to its business and expert cruise content.
The deal sees the exit of majority shareholder Bridgepoint, which is one of the world’s top private asset growth investors. It acquired the business in 2016 and is said to have prevailed over a period of strong growth – identifying the Ƶ and Germany as the second and third largest ocean cruise markets after the US.
Chris Gardner, Victoria Travel Group chief executive, will continue to lead the business, alongside Carl Tromans, group chief financial officer; Tony Andrews, Ƶ managing director; and Tom Reiter, German managing director.
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Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, said: “This deal is an exciting and significant milestone for us. This is our first online travel agency acquisition and a major step in our ambition to expand our footprint in the global cruise market. We have been hugely impressed by the strength of the Victoria Travel Group and we are delighted to welcome Chris, Carl, Tony and Tom to our business.
“We look forward to working alongside them, exploring opportunities and learning from each other as we seek to continuously improve the choice, experience and value we offer our customers.”
Mr Gardner said: “We’re delighted to be joining the Hays Travel family. Their values, customer-first approach, and long-term vision align with ours.
"This partnership opens up exciting opportunities to grow our brands and deliver even more value to cruise customers in the Ƶ and internationally.”
Jonathon Woodall-Johnston, chief operating officer of Hays Travel, and Jo Rzymowska, a respected cruise industry leader and non-executive director of Hays Travel, will join the Victoria Travel Group board as non-executive directors.
The acquisition of Victoria Travel Group is just the latest in a string of deals for Hays, which snapped up Essex business Spear Travels Group, together with branches across the Ƶ, earlier this year. The Upminster-based firm has branches as far north as Northallerton, as well as a network of homeworkers. Prior to that, Hays acquired Welsh travel company Miles Morgan Travel and its 20 branches.
