Inflexion's Scott Dunn valued at GBP 121m in trade exit

Ero Partsakoulaki
31 January 2023

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Private equity firm Inflexion has agreed to sell UK-based luxury travel business Scott Dunn to Flight Centre, an Australia-listed travel agency, for an enterprise value of GBP 121m.

The deal values the company at 9.6x its EBITDA for the 12 months ending 30 June 2023, according to an announcement by the buyer.

Flight Centre will fund the acquisition with a GBP 102m equity raising supported by Macquarie Capital Australia and UBS Securities Australia, according to the announcement. The remaining amount will be covered by existing cash in the balance sheet.

Inflexion appointed Harris Williams to run a sales process for Scott Dunn late last year, Mergermarket reported.

The sponsor acquired the company in 2014 via its 2010 buyout fund, which held a final close on GBP 375m in September 2010 to invest in mid-market buyouts in UK high-growth companies with an enterprise value in the range of GBP 10m-100m, according to Unquote Data. The sale is the 13th exit for the fund, a spokesperson for Inflexion told Unquote.

Inflexion is deploying capital from its sixth buyout fund which held a final close on GBP 2.5m in March 2022 and is fundraising for its Inflexion Partnership Capital Fund III. The vehicle was registered in August 2022 and is set to follow its predecessor's strategies and be dedicated solely to minority investing.

Under Inflexion's ownership, Scott Dunn made acquisitions including US-based Aardvark Safaris and Singapore-based Country Holiday, as well as created a 24-hour guest service and developed the company's responsible business strategy, according to a press release.

The acquisition will allow Flight Centre to enter the UK and US luxury markets and to expand in its core markets, as well as develop a global luxury collection of travel brands, which will now include the Travel Associates brand in Australia and New Zealand, and Scott Dunn. Flight Centre's management team will also assist Scott Bunn with its growth plans.

Company
Scott Dunn is a UK-based provider of luxury holiday packages. Its two main established markets are the UK and the US, representing 74% and 21% of TTV for the 12 months to 31 October 2022, respectively, with a small presence in Asia. The company is headquartered in London and employs 51 staff members.

People
Inflexion − Simon Turner (managing partner), Cath Richards (partner), Andreas Constantinides (investment director).
Scott Dunn− Sonia Davies (CEO).
Flight Centre − Graham Turner (managing director).

Advisers
Vendor – Harris Williams (corporate finance).
Buyer − Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited; UBS Securities Australia Limited (underwriters, bookrunners and joint lead managers).