AC Group in acquisition talks
Destination management company AC Group is having ongoing talks with two companies it is considering acquiring.
One is a UK-based company and the other is in Europe. An announcement on one deal could come early in the new year.
Co-CEO Rob Russell said AC Group is ‘always interested’ in talking to companies which fit with its business.
The group bought Paris-based French Travel Partners in 2017, a move which Russell said was part of the company’s ‘post Brexit’ strategy.
"We’re still very confident and conscious of having that kind of foothold in Europe," he said.
Russell said recent consolidation among the big bedbanks would also bring interest into the sector, perhaps from private equity firms who are ‘coming to talk to people like us’.
Meanwhile, Brexit uncertainty would likely lead to further opportunities to buy other businesses whose owners are looking for an exit.
"As we saw with the referendum there are opportunities, particularly with business owners from the baby boomer generation who haven’t got exit plans and are seeing the way forward as being a bit blurred," he said.
Speaking about the challenges of Brexit, Russell said the group has also seen some non-British staff chose to leave the company and return to their country of origin because they don’t feel welcome.
"If the workers are feeling that way the tourists are certainly going to react too. It’s been worrying us for a while," he said.
The group, whose workforce has grown from 17 in 2013 to 98 today, said it has managed to retain some staff by allowing them to work remotely.
"But this can be a challenge to your systems and processes and changes the dynamic of the business," he said.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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