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Private equity firm invests in Holidaycottages.co.uk

The family founders of accommodation rental website, Holidaycottages.co.uk, have sold half of their business to a private equity firm.


Father-and-sons team Peter, James and Simon Morris received up to £15 million from selling a half share in the rentals website to Phoenix Equity Partners, which also counts travel firms Riviera and Bridge Leisure among its investments, the Telegraph reported.


Phoenix has a “buy-and-build” strategy and confirmed plans to provide funding for future bolt-on acquisitions.


Holidaycottages.co.uk manages more than 2,200 self-catering holiday properties across the UK and expects to deliver over 55,000 bookings this year.


The company was founded by the Morris family in 1989 and has achieved significant growth under James Morris’s leadership.


James Morris took over as managing director in the mid-2000s and the firm, registered under the company name Travel Chapter, now turns over £7.6 million a year.


Holidaycottages.co.uk posted pre-tax profits of £1.4 million in the year to October 31 2015, triple the £470,000 from the year before.


James Morris said: “In recent years we have built our family-owned business into one of the UK’s leading holiday lettings companies. We have a strong team in place and a range of exciting growth opportunities.


“We are pleased to be partnering with Phoenix, who share our ambition for growth and will support us to deliver our plan.”


Phoenix managing partner, David Burns, said: “We believe that Travel Chapter is an exciting first investment for our 2016 Fund.


“Travel Chapter is a fast-growing, innovative business operating in an attractive market. We are delighted to be partnering with James and his team and we look forward to working with them to accelerate the growth of the business.”

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