The sale of the former Specialist Holidays Group by Tui, which was initially announced in May 2016, was agreed this week as part of the travel giant’s transformation from tour operator to “integrated tourism business focused on hotel and cruise brands”.
Martin Froggatt, managing director expeditions, education and events, told TTG that Hayes & Jarvis, Travelmood, Exodus and TrekAmerica were among the brands that he would like to see do more business through the trade.
Will Waggott (right), chief executive of Travelopia, added: “We have been tarred with the Tui brush while we have been part of that, and [agents] have not wanted to deal with us as much.”
The pair said they were keen to grow trade business across Travelopia, and argued that it would be difficult for agents to find equivalents of many of the brands.
They said they were predicting particular growth for the “experiential” side of the business.
Mathew Prior, managing director tailor-made and marine, added that Travelopia would continue to invest to offer “the best service possible” to agents.
“On top of visiting an average of 120 stores per week, our eight- man strong trade team has been investing in numerous roadshows around the country,” he said.
The Club, a scheme offering a wider choice of incentives to agents, will launch in March.
Waggott went on to confirm that there would be no change to Travelopia’s 4,013- strong team or brands following the deal, except for the possibility of growth.
“There’s no big secret plan,” he said. “The team is very excited by the sale.”
Waggott also did not rule out acquisitions in the future.
Tui Group’s chief executive, Fritz Joussen, said that Travelopia’s “enterprise value” was more than 14 times its 2015-16 underlying earnings.
Who is KKR?
Investments: KKR is a global investment firm based in New York with interests in many sectors, including infrastructure, energy, property and hedge funds.
Strategy: It typically holds its investments for around seven years and regards Travelopia as “absolutely a long-term investment”.
Portfolio: Its London-based European arm, KKR Europe, has added Travelopia to a portfolio of travel brands, including Trainline which it majority owns and Spanish theme park PortAventura, in which it owns a 49.9% stake.
