The deal was completed today, with 85% of the consortium now owned by its senior management, and 15% by private equity, with an option for managers to buy the remaining stake in five years time.

It includes ownership of all membership brands underneath The Travel Network Group, specifically Travel Trust Association (TTA), Worldchoice, Independent Travel Experts, Worldchoice Ireland and TTA Trustees.

Gary Lewis, who has now become chief executive of TTNG, told TTG the move would enable the management to better serve members. “The team will be living and breathing the business. The membership can trust the management because it’s their business,” he said.

The new shareholders of the business include Lewis, as well as group marketing director Si Prentice; group membership services director Lisa Henning; group operations and risk director Avril Hurd and group commercial and finance director Vim Vithaldas. Lewis said TTNG would continue to be driven by the management team.

As part of the new ownership structure, Simon Hargreaves has stepped down as the group’s chairman.

“The business has gone through such a huge transformation,” Lewis said.

"We have been working towards this management ownership for over three years and believe the change is essential to continue to maintain the professionalism, the required investment and determination to deliver for our members.

“We’ve gone from venture capitalists coming in in 2007 buying the Travel Trust Association, which then bought Worldchoice in 2008. The transformation has been huge, but we emerged as The Travel Network Group and it’s been a huge success.

“There’s also been a huge transformation around the management team who have shown real commitment and understanding of our members, and have been out and about meeting the members.

“[The TTNG] is a complicated business model, but we’ve got people that really understand it,” Lewis added. “They have the drive, and they are a committed team. And now it’s their business.

“Each of our members are entrepreneurial business owners – it’s their life. What they’ve got, they can now see replicated with us. The relationships we have with our members remain at the core of everything we do and this will become even more evident as we move forward.”