Two leading travel companies – Riviera Travel and Scott Dunn – are poised to change hands in multi-million pound deals.
The buyout firm that backed Jimmy Choo shoes is closing in on a deal to buy river cruise and escorted tours company Riviera Travel for up to £130 million, according to the Sunday Times.
Phoenix Equity Partners is in exclusive talks to buy the company from founder Michael Wright and his wife.
Wright is expected to retain a significant stake in the Burton upon Trent-based company he set up 30 years ago, and to continue to be involved in running it.
Riviera employs 80 staff and made pre-tax profits of almost £10 million last year from sales of £106 million.
There has been strong interest in the business from private equity investors, with Phoenix seeing off rivals including Bridgepoint, Equistone and LDC.
The auction is being handled by the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCooper.
Luxury operator Scott Dunn is being pursued by potential investors, including Inflexion, which part-owns the Jack Wills clothing chain, Oakley Capital, ECI and Primary Capital.
Initial offers are said to value Scott Dunn at up to £65 million, although insiders said this could get pushed up to more than £70 million, the newspaper reported.
It said sources suggested that Scott Dunn’s founder, Andrew Dunn, has not yet decided whether to sanction an outright sale or bring in a minority investor. He is working with the corporate finance firm Cavendish on a potential deal.
The travel industry has proved particularly popular with private equity investors keen to cash in on rising demand for holidays among the UK’s ageing population.