Loveholidays poised for sale
Reports are fast emerging that online travel agent Loveholidays is poised for a £180 million sale.
Sky News says a takeover by private equity firm Livingbridge is expected to be confirmed this week, netting huge sums for Jonny Marsh and Alex Francis who founded the company six years ago.
Shareholders in the company were asked to sign over the right to negotiate to the CEO and chairman around a month ago.
Loveholidays, with offices in Hammersmith and Lancing, allows users to search for holidays across multiple destinations within the same price bracket, look for departures within a 30-day period, and alter the length of their stay without having to start all over again.
Livingbridge has previously invested in On The Beach, back in 2007, and also owns Sykes Cottages.
Two years ago it helped with the sale of Reed & Mackay and also assisted the management buy-out of Key Travel.
Sky News reports that Travel Counsellors is also on the verge of being sold, to buyout firm Vitruvian Partners for around £250 million.
Vitruvian Partners had previously backed Skyscanner, now owned by Ctrip.
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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