MANOS Holidays is relocating to Brighton following its acquisition by Airtours in a move that is expected to lead to job losses.
The deal followed weeks of talks between the two companies as exclusively revealed by Travel Weekly on January 10.
Manos, which specialises in Greece and Turkey and made around £500,000 in the year to October 1999, will share offices on the south coast with Airtours-owned Panorama. It is currently based in Old Street in the City of London.
Airtours, which is believed to have paid around £8m for the operator, refused to comment on the relocation plans but sources said the move will happen over the next few months.
Managing director Tony Anaxagorou will remain with the company although not all staff are expected to relocate.
“We are talking to Airtours to see what the future holds,” he said.
The Helmshore-based operator had been courting Manos for months after being linked with another Greece specialist, Kosmar. The purchase will strengthen Airtours’ position in Greece where sources said it had been under represented. Manos carried 125,000 last year.
Manos’ Greece-based owner Manos Tsatsakis has been reluctant to sell in the past but it is believed to have wanted to raise cash to concentrate on the group’s non-travel businesses.
Greek-owned Olympic Holidays was also believed to be interested in Manos.