Prestige was founded in 1989 by John Dixon, who is currently chairman and managing director. Dixon will retire following Prestige’s sale to Embrace after working for more than 50 years in the travel industry.

The operator’s commercial director David Skillicorn will stay with the company after its acquisition.

Dixon said: “I am delighted to have secured new ownership for the company after what has been a particularly challenging 18 months.

“This deal recognises the hard work of the Prestige team and will enable the business to move forward and adapt as international travel starts to pick up post-pandemic.”

Embrace Travel Group has “a strong background in the travel and tourism industry and is actively seeking acquisitions bringing together a group of carefully selected travel companies from appropriate geographical areas around the United Kingdom”, according to its website.

“We specialise in merger and acquisitions (M&A) alongside company turnarounds utilising our expertise in sales, operations and finance,” the group added.

Prestige Holidays offers trips to more than 20 destinations including the Canary Islands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Canada, as well as Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly.

“The company was attracted to the Prestige brand because of its strong and long-established relationships with the travel trade, its excellent personal service and its dedicated team of destination experts,” added a statement from Prestige.