Equistone sells Travel Counsellors to Vitruvian

Kenny Wastell
01 June 2018

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Equistone Partners Europe has sold its stake in UK-headquartered travel agent Travel Counsellors in a secondary buyout to Vitruvian Partners.

Unquote understands that the deal values the company in the region of £250m, following a three-and-a-half-year holding period.

The vendor was invested in the company via its fourth fund, which launched in November 2011 and held a final close in January 2013 on its £1.5bn target.

According to various media reports, the vendor conducted the sale via a dual-track process, having appointed Rothschild around a year ago to explore the possibility of an IPO or a divestment to a PE buyer.

According to a statement, the business increased its statutory turnover and profit by 17% and 20% respectively during Equistone's holding period. The company has built out its senior management team, invested in its technology platform and pursued international expansion during the holding period. According to a statement, it has set aside £6m to invest exclusively in IT developments and upgrades throughout 2018.

Vitruvian has a strong track record of investing in the travel space, having previously backed Skyscanner, JacTravel and OAG. The GP is currently investing from its €2.4bn third fund, which closed in June 2017 and typically writes equity cheques of €25-200m.

Previous funding
Equistone acquired a majority stake in Travel Counsellors in October 2014.

Company
Manchester-headquartered Travel Counsellors is a travel agent for both the consumer and corporate sectors. The company was founded in 1994 and has operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America.

Travel Counsellors operates based on a franchise model, with 1,800 advisers working remotely on a self-employed basis.

People
Equistone Partners Europe – Steve O'Hare (senior partner).
Vitruvian Partners – Ben Johnson (partner).
Travel Counsellors – Steve Byrne (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Rothschild (corporate finance); Deloitte (financial due diligence); LEK Consulting (commercial due diligence); Pinsent Masons (legal).
Equity – GCA Altium (corporate finance); Marlborough Partners (debt advisory); Mayer Brown (legal); OC&C (commercial due diligence); CG Consultancy (IT due diligence).