NorthEdge backs £30m MBO of ITC Luxury Travel

Kenny Wastell
31 August 2016

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Northern-England-focused GP NorthEdge Capital has acquired a majority stake in travel agency ITC Luxury Travel Group as part of a management buyout.

The deal values the company at around £30m, unquote" understands.

Following completion of the deal, the business will look to invest in IT infrastructure, product development and the training of its sales team. It will also undertake a recruitment drive.

ITC recently bolted on Western and Oriental Travel, expanding its services beyond its existing beach holidays market into activity-led holidays. Under its new ownership model it will look to expand beyond the luxury market, on which it currently focuses.

As part of the latest deal, former WM Morrison and N Brown Group chair Andrew Higginson will take on the role of chairperson at ITC. NorthEdge partner Ray Stenton will also take a seat on the board as non-executive director.

NorthEdge is currently investing from its second fund, which closed on its £300m hard-cap in March 2016 after just four months on the road.

Santander provided a senior debt package to support the GP's latest transaction.

Company
Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Chester, ITC is a travel agency specialising in luxury holidays. The company has a headcount of 200 and generated a turnover of £80m in the year to April 2016, up from £43m in 2013.

People
NorthEdge Capital – Ray Stenton (partner); Phil Frame (investment director); George Potts (investment manager).
ITC Luxury Travel Group – Jen Atkinson (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – EY, Emma Pickering, Mitchell Cox, Lauren Spours, Christopher Lowe, Rob Jones, David Cheshire, David Larsson, Kanishka de Livera, Mark Hemming, John Price, Tom Dawson (corporate finance, debt advisory, commercial due diligence, financial due diligence); Pinsent Masons, Andy Phillips, Tim Fearn, Amie Norris, Anna Mee (legal); PwC, Simon Viner, Stephen Woodhouse, Dan Harding (tax); Intuitus, Gary Tough, Richard Irwin (IT due diligence); The Strategy Exchange, Chris Bentley, James Jennings (commercial due diligence); TTC, Martin Alcock (regulatory due diligence).
Company – Livingstone Corporate Finance, Simon Cope-Thompson (corporate finance); Hill Dickinson, Matt Noon (legal).