FIRST Choice will complete the acquisition of UK short-break operatorRainbow Holidays by the end of March for an undisclosed sum.
The deal with Rainbow owner West Midlands Co-op follows a conditional agreement between the two parties reached last October.
The York-based operator will come under the control of Kevin Ivie, managing director of specialist business at First Choice.
Ivie said the operation, which in 1998 carried more than 100,000 passengers, fills a gap in First Choice’s portfolio.
“We do not have a domestic product so this adds to our range of products,” he said. “With the large customer base we have at First Choice, we intend to expand the business.
“Rainbow already has good distribution and that will improve further with the retail chain we are are growing.”
There will no no job losses as a result of the acquisition.
“It is business as usual,” said Ivie.
Rainbow was acquired by West Midlands Co-op for an undisclosed sum in January 1997, after the collapse of its parent company Greenfield Holdings Group.
First Choice already has links with West Midlands Co-op as it bought a 25% stake in Holiday Hypermarkets, partly owned by the agency chain, last November.