Harlequin bought by Western & Oriental
Luxury operator Harlequin Worldwide Travel has become the fourth acquisition by Western & Oriental Travel this year.
The £470,000 deal in cash and shares expands W&O’s coverage of the Caribbean and enhances its reach in the Indian Ocean and other parts of Europe.
Harlequin will be restructured and is expected to be profitable in its first financial year within the W&O group, a statement said. The operator will move from Essex to W&O’s London base.
W&O Travel managing director Ian Neale said the group would continue to seek further acquisitions following its float on AIM in March which raised more than £5 million.
Harlequin, a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, has annual turnover of £4.5 million. Besides luxury tailormade holidays, the operator runs a specialist dive programme.
Western & Oriental chairman David Howell said: “The acquisition of Harlequin brings and enhanced product breadth to the group, in particular adding specialist Caribbean holidays to the portfolio.
“The business will be re-located to the group offices in London and, following work on our internal structure over the last few months, we are now well placed to integrate Harlequin fully into the Western & Oriental business delivering cost synergies immediately.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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