Stone Ventures moved for the solo holiday specialist on Tuesday (16 April), acquiring the company for an undisclosed sum.

Solos currently takes an average of 11,000 customers on holiday every year, specialising in escorted tours.

It also operates a number of properties reserved for the singles market through its Club Solos brand, which it intends to further expand next year.

Andrew Williams, magaing director, said: “Solos Holidays has led the singles holiday market for many years and has been pivotal introducing new products and formats for the market.

“The singles market is seeing strong growth and we look forward to capitalising on this with our new investment.”

As part of the deal, Solos will have access to £1 million growth capital to support its expansion plans.

“We are looking forward to expanding our Club Solos offering and introducing more tours, but more excitingly, we will be introducing new marketing channels for 2020,” Williams added.

“We already achieve some of the highest repeat booking rates in the market and great customer reviews underpin everything we do.”

Stone Ventures is a private equity house specialising in investments in the travel sector.

It already owns Long Travel and Completely Croatia, tailor-made tour operators focusing on the over-50s couples market, and has previously invested in Ski Solutions, If You Ski and Cycling for Softies.

Steward Baird, chief executive of Stone Ventures, added: “This is a really exciting investment for us. More than one third of the population are single, with nearly 15% divorced or widowed.

“Being single or unable to travel with a partner shouldn’t stop anyone enjoying travel and Solos has been at forefront of this market for over 35 years.

“We’ve been really impressed by the team at Solos and are thrilled to be supporting them into this next chapter.”