Corporate travel company Reed & Mackay has acquired rival Hillgate Travel in a private equity-backed deal which propels the combined business into the UK travel management company (TMC) top-10.
Reed & Mackay’s acquisition of Hillgate for an undisclosed sum was announced on Tuesday.
The combined business will handle more than one million corporate travel transactions a year in the UK alone, with a UK staff of about 600 and UK turnover approaching £500 million.
Hillgate Travel is an Advantage Travel Partnership member and has been headed by chief executive Anthony Rissbrook since September 2011.
Reed & Mackay has expanded globally since its acquisition by private equity firm Inflexion in a deal which valued the business at £170 million in August 2016.
The company, headed by chief executive Fred Stratford, acquired Chicago-based Gray’s Travel Management for an undisclosed sum in January 2017.
It took a stake in German TMC Moll Travel, based in Frankfurt, in April last year and it acquired French corporate travel firm Frequent Flyer Travel Paris last December.
In between these acquisitions, the company announced the creation of a global partnership with TMCs across Europe, in India and the Americas.
Reed & Mackay recently opened an office in Singapore to add to offices in the US and Dubai.
Stratford said: “There is a passion for service at the heart of both businesses that makes this a very natural fit. Together we will be even stronger.”
Rissbrook said: “Both Hillgate and Reed & Mackay have invested heavily in our client-facing technology.
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring together the best features from both platforms, accelerating our delivery of industry-leading technology to clients.”
Jeremy Bull, Hillgate chairman, added: “The investment that Reed & Mackay has made in their wholly owned presence across the globe and in their international partnership will bring great benefit to our client base.”
Reed & Mackay has enjoyed private equity backing since 2005 when Livingbridge took a stake and was joined by ECI Partners in 2011.
Its private equity backer Inflexion previously held a controlling stake in online travel agent On the Beach, which floated in 2015, and retains investments in travel technology firm ATCORE and luxury tour operator Scott Dunn.
Privately-owned Hillgate Travel was advised on the deal by GCA Altium.