Manchester travel company acquires Canadian rival to fuel North American expansion

Manchester-based Travel Counsellors has announced the acquisition of its Canadian counterpart The Travel Agent Next Door TTAND in a deal valued at approximately £50 million. This move is designed to accelerate the companys international growth ambitions and marks a significant step into North America the worlds largest travel market.

According to Steve Byrne chief executive of Travel Counsellors the acquisition of Toronto-based TTAND will serve as a strategic platform for expansion throughout North America. Canada is the worlds seventh largest outbound travel market and TTAND which was established in 2014 has emerged as a leading force in Canadas premium leisure travel sector. Last year TTAND reported turnover of Canadian $500 million and the company operates under a franchise model similar to that of Travel Counsellors utilising a network of homeworking travel advisers.

The transaction will broaden the combined groups reach to more than 3900 travel advisers operating across seven international markets. The company expects this expansion to result in a projected total transaction value of £1.5 billion in the next 12 months accompanied by underlying profits of £50 million. This momentum follows a record period for Travel Counsellors which achieved a total transaction value of £1.1 billion and underlying earnings of £43 million in the year ending October. Revenues increased by 9 percent over the same period totalling around £570 million as strong demand for personalised travel services continued particularly among millennial customers.

Both businesses are expected to benefit from increased scale and the continued rollout of proprietary technology platforms. Byrne has emphasised the commitment to doubling the size of the company in order to challenge incumbents in the international travel sector by offering a highly scalable technology enabled and customer focused business model. The group caters to both leisure and corporate clients with services ranging from city breaks and cruises to honeymoons and long haul holiday planning.

Travel Counsellors research highlights a growing appetite for bespoke travel among millennials with over half of those aged between 29 and 44 indicating plans to spend more on holidays in the next year compared with the national average of 34 percent.

Founded in 1994 by David Speakman Travel Counsellors transitioned from a traditional bricks and mortar travel agency to a homeworking advisory network. The company is currently owned by private equity firm Vitruvian Partners which acquired it in a £250 million transaction. Vitruvian Partners has a portfolio including Sykes Holiday Cottages and Civitatis and recently acquired luxury tour provider Great Rail Journeys for over £200 million.