LDC invests £6.5m in Blue Bay Travel

Under its new ownership model, the business will implement an international expansion strategy. It will also increase its headcount, invest in the development of its online booking platform and launch its new luxury long-haul and short-haul platform Xclusivity.

As part of the deal, Blue Bay has appointed Cruise.co.uk chairperson Andrew Gardner as non-executive chair. LDC investment director David Andrews will also join the company's board of directors.

LDC has historically made numerous investments in the travel sector. Most recently, the GP provided additional capital to portfolio company and holiday resorts manager Away Resorts in January 2017 as part of a refinancing deal to support the acquisition of the Sandy Balls holiday park.

Company
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Stoke-On-Trent, Blue Bay is a travel agent focusing on long-haul holidays to the Caribbean, Mexico and the Indian Ocean. It operates under a number of brands including Caribbean Warehouse and Tropical Warehouse and manages holiday bookings for 16,500 people per year, according to a statement issued by the GP. The company has a headcount of 60.

People
LDC – David Andrews (investment director).
Blue Bay – Stuart Wilson (founder, CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Armstrong Transaction Services, Tom Raymond, Mike Callow (commercial due diligence); BDO, Graham Elsworth, Louise Chubb (financial due diligence); Intuitus Advisory, Douglas Eadie, Chris Jelley, Richard Irwin (IT due diligence); Osborne Clarke, Robert Wood, Alec Bartlett, Mike Freer, Emma Ladley (legal).
Management – Knight Corporate Finance, Sam Davies, Laura Cockburn (corporate finance); DWF, Paul Rimmer, Alasdair Outhwaite, Rosie Spencer (legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• LDC