Hays Travel Acquires Victoria Travel, Enters OTA Space

Hays Travel, the UK's largest independent travel agent, announced the acquisition of Victoria Travel Group Ltd, including its brands Cruise.co.uk, Seascanner, and German division Kreuzfahrtberater.de. This is Hays’ first acquisition of an online travel agency (OTA).

The current leadership team, including CEO Chris Gardner, CFO Carl Tromans, UK MD Tony Andrews, and German MD Tom Reiter, will continue in their roles.

Hays COO Jonathon Woodall-Johnston and cruise expert Jo Rzymowska will join the Victoria Travel board as non-executive directors.

Bridgepoint Group, which has held a majority stake in Victoria Travel since 2016, has exited its investment following the acquisition.

This is the seventh acquisition for Hays Travel since 2019, following the Thomas Cook retail takeover, Just Go Travel, Travel House, Miles Morgan Travel, Holiday With Us, and Spear Travels. The purchase price was not disclosed publicly.

Other notable acquisitions this month include Marriott acquiring citizenM, Blue Coast buying Courtyard by Marriott, and TPG acquiring Hospitality Solutions from Sabre.

Cover photo by Alonso Reyes on Unsplash