Head of Bales Worldwide Mandy Nickerson said selling her business to Virgin Holidays last year was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but she was sure it was in good hands.
Speaking at the latest ITT Odyssey Dinner at the House of Commons last week, Nickerson, who still heads up the 60-year-old family business, recalled the 11 months it took to sell the firm.
“It was a painful year,” she said. “I was not prepared for the emotional strain – I would not wish for anyone to go through that process.”
Nickerson said she started talks with consultants at Deloitte in January last year after an initial approach in November of 2008.
The deal was eventually sealed in December and, while the sum Virgin paid was not disclosed, Nickerson said she and her husband planned to have a “Gucci gap year” break in 2013.
She told guests she felt a huge weight of responsibility for Bales’ customers and staff.
“[Virgin] loves everything about Bales. I needed to sell to a company that I admired and respected, and trusted more than anything else.
“It’s a Virgin business and they can do what they like with it, but they said they value the name: what is the point of losing that when it brings something into the business?”
Virgin has retained all Bales’ staff and kept its head-quarters in Dorking, Surrey.
Nickerson has been the only one of seven siblings still working at Bales for the last 13 years.
She admitted the responsibility of running the family firm made her conservative as a businesswoman, but one risk that paid off was insisting Bales moved into selling tailor-made holidays in the early 1990s.