The boss of ITC Luxury Travel has spelt out her vision of becoming the leading business in the sector after leading a management buy-out.
CEO Jennifer Atkinson completed the deal with backing from former Capita boss Paul Pindar and Santander.
Pindar spent 26 years at outsourcing group Capita, building it into a £7.5 billion FTSE 100 company, and becomes chairman of new ITC parent company The Luxury Travel Group.
ITC, which has been established for 40 years, has annual revenue of more than £47 million.
The company remains wholly British owned with June Foster, of the original founding family, retaining a shareholding alongside other members of the ITC management team.
The strategy moving forward will be to create organic growth through significant investment in people and systems together with the targeted acquisition of travel businesses both within the luxury sector and also in other specialist sectors.
Atkinson, who has been CEO of ITC for five years and joined the business ten years ago, said: “We are excited about this new phase for ITC. Paul brings huge amounts of experience on company development and shares our ambitions to make ITC the leading luxury holiday provider in the country.
“We look forward to showcasing stylish holidays, sports tours and the very best hotels with our continued focus on excellence.
“We have built a brilliant team and we all look forward to leading the business to the next phase of its success.”
Pindar said: “I am delighted to be involved with ITC because the company has a high quality management team which is focused on providing an exceptional luxury travel experience at a competitive price.
“There are many opportunities to grow our offering in the luxury travel market and I look forward to working with the team to develop products for the benefit of our loyal customer base.”
Kerry Rogan and Andrew Mulliner, of Santander Corporate Banking, said: “We’re delighted to be involved with Jennifer, Paul and the impressive management team at ITC, and look forward to supporting the future growth of the business.”