THE company headed by Glasgow-based veteran travel agent Duncan Wilson has unveiled a luxury villa chain as its latest acquisition.
Mr Wilson has completed a deal to acquire holiday property firm Villa Select, which is the second business to be snapped up by Brooklyn Travel Holdings since it was formed to buy Stewart Travel from Minoan Group last year.
The move follows the purchase of Canterbury Travel, the UK provider of Lapland holidays to Santa villages.
Villa Select, which is based in Alcester, Warwickshire and Palma, Mallorca, has around 360 high-end properties.
READ MORE: Stewart Travel sets sights on 'motoring' north-east market
The purchase of the company from ITC for an undisclosed sum signals the on-going acquisitive strategy of Brooklyn, the firm said.
Mr Wilson said: “Whilst it is true that we are in expansion mode, we are only interested in organisations that share our culture of quality product and service at value for money prices.
“ITC are a fabulous company and I have known their CEO for a long time.
“Our strategic path is one of building a portfolio of specialist brands which are performing well in their own right and may be assisted by our bulk buying power and our retail estate that is Stewart Travel.
“We have very ambitious plans to grow and develop Villa Select in a very short period of time, significantly increasing the already impressive property portfolio at the company’s disposal.”
Jen Atkinson, chairman of ITC said: “We know the business and the team will continue to excel under the guidance and support of Brooklyn and wish the staff the very best of success in the future.”
The launch of Brooklyn and the purchase of Canterbury late last year in deals amounting to £23 million marked the first stage of a buy and build strategy in the specialist travel sector.
The senior management team of Glasgow based Stewart Travel led by Mr Wilson, Rick Green and Brian Cassidy completed the management buy-out of the company from AIM listed Minoan PLC supported by the private equity funders, Zachary Asset Holdings.
READ MORE: Glasgow-based Minoan raises £500,000 for Crete resort plan
Middlesex based Canterbury Travel, was acquired at that time and integrated into the group under the banner of newly created Brooklyn Travel Holdings, which was formed as a bid co to complete both acquisitions.
Stewart Travel, in addition to having 13 high street shops, is a travel business focussed on providing niche holidays to the independent travel market, specialising into high growth areas of the travel market, such as cruise and golf, sold via online and offline distribution channels, to consumers throughout the UK.
It sees its ability to design complex trips with multiple aspects and provide expert advice from experienced staff as key differentiators from mainstream travel companies, resulting in double digit growth in revenues year on year.
Mr Wilson has a proven track record in building businesses in the travel sector, with roles including the chief executive of Direct Holidays PLC, which was sold to Airtours Group of which he also became UK head.
He said: “We are all delighted to have concluded this latest transaction.”
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