The Travel Network Group is set to acquire rival travel agency consortium Global Travel Group from dnata Travel group.
Global will remain as a separate proposition within the Travel Network Group, alongside its other brands Travel Trust Association (TTA), Worldchoice and Independent Travel Experts (ITE).
More than 200 Global members will become part of TTNG in addition to the existing network of more than 1,000 members including retail and homeworking travel agencies.
The deal, expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, comes after dnata announced a company-wide review that would see Global “right-size” its business.
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Gary Lewis, chief executive of The Travel Network Group said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the Global members into our Group. Our longstanding partnership with dnata and Gold Medal is one of the key reasons why we have put together this proposition. One of our core strategies as a Group is to have scale in the market and be relevant, to ensure we can inspire, grow and protect our individual travel members.’
John Bevan, chief executive of dnata Travel Group, added: “As part of the proposed organisational changes that we’ve started to consult with our team on, it seemed appropriate that we gave strategic direction for the Global Travel Group to be supported by owners whose focus is solely around their membership proposition.
“We’re confident that the many friends we have within Global will continue to thrive with The Travel Network Group and we wish them the very best wishes for the future.”
Global members were sent an email at 10am this morning advising they needed to be present for an urgent call at 10.45am, and told of the deal on a Zoom video call.
In a letter to existing members, TTNG said adding scale was one of its “core strategies”.
The letter added: “The impact of having an additional 200+ existing travel businesses join will help us drive the clear vision and purpose we have as an organisation, to be relevant for each and every one of you as individual members.”