The US-based company took over Barrhead this year and London agency Colletts Travel in 2017. It also recently merged with Altour – which has a UK presence – and owns Scotia Travel, with those brands now sitting under the UK umbrella, alongside divisions of Protravel and Tzell.
Talking to TTG at ILTM, chief executive Ninan Chacko said: “We now have a much bigger critical mass in the UK and we continue to be acquisitive, especially with Brexit and exchange rates currently making some things look more attractive externally.
“The perfect businesses for us will be those that look very much like those we have already. We like the independent travel adviser model, and businesses focused on luxury, not only because of their economic structure, but because they can be a more resilient model.”
He added “luxury travel continues to expand in leaps and bounds, both in volume and rate terms”.
“I think we are at a renaissance point, with dizzying investment in all luxury channels, something that creates a great opportunity for travel advisers,” Chacko said.
Separately at ILTM, Jason Oshiokpekhai, managing director of all Travel Leaders’ brand portfolio in the UK, told TTG: “As we look for growth, we will continue to promote all our brands individually, as they complement each other.
It’s a great time to be considering a move as a travel adviser and we’re actively recruiting.”
He said a lot of people had joined as first-time travel advisers building on their social media following, while for others this was their second career, such as lawyers who now earn more as an adviser.
“We want to establish Travel Leaders as the home for anyone who wants to become an independent adviser,” said Oshiokpekhai.
“And as the UK business grows, we will look to expand within our current St Martins Lane offices in London.”
Travel Leaders Group represents more than 52,000 travel agents.
