UK competition watchdog expands review of Hays Travel acquisitions

Tuesday, 27 Jan, 2026 0

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expanding its antitrust review into recent travel agency acquisitions by Hays Travel.

The CMA is now seeking comments on the recent acquisitions of Polka Dot Travel and Millington Travel.

The competition watchdog started an investigation in late 2025.

It ordered Hays Travel to postpone the integration of the two agency groups.

Polka Dot Travel has 15 agency stores in the Northwest and Midlands.

Millington operates 14 agency branches in the Midlands.

“The CMA is issuing this ‘invitation to comment’ to allow interested parties to submit to the CMA any initial views on the impact that the two transactions could have on competition in the UK,” the CMA said.

“This invitation to comment is the first part of the CMA’s information-gathering process.”

It requests comments to be sent to [email protected] by 9 February.

Hays Travel has said it is cooperating with the CMA’s review process.

Both the acquisition deals were announced in October just a few days apart.



Related News Stories:  Virgin Australia overtakes Qantas as largest domestic airline     Ambassador Cruise Line admits 'admin error' in ad campaign    



 

profileimage

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...