Accountancy firm predicts M&A deals for Loveholidays, Travelopia and Audley Travel

Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has predicted next year’s merger and acquisition (M&A) activity will involve companies including Loveholidays, Travelopia and Audley Travel.

The firm, which acted for Flight Centre during its recent acquisition of Iglu, has issued the annual update from its travel M&A team.

It has predicted next year will include deals involving Loveholidays, Travelopia, Audley Travel, Tour Partner Group and Rabbie’s Tours.

Loveholidays, the third-largest Atol holder, with a licence to carry more than 5 million passengers, has previously been said to be coming to market “looking for £1 billion”.

In BDO’s update last year, it correctly predicted deals for Iglu, Cruise.co.uk and Great Rail Journeys. It also correctly said there would be offers for Audley Travel and Riviera Travel, though the bids were rejected.

It has advised firms looking to sell in 2026 to consider several issues, including its belief that investors will become less interested in ESG management and more interested in progress towards the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

It has also said having multiple markets is a “key factor for value enhancement”, adding: “Knowing who your customers are, the Total Addressable Market (‘TAM’) and having a clear international strategy are critical.”

In further advice, it encouraged firms to know key metrics, including repeat rate, lifetime value and customer acquisition costs by channel.

“This evidences good systems, data-driven decision-making and more predictable ROI,” it said.

Outlining “reasons to be positive” about the year ahead, the company cited Barclays research showing the strength of consumer spending with travel agents.

It also pointed to statistics suggesting the UK household savings rate is above the 10-year average.

The firm’s own research has suggested UK consumers have “consistently” said they will spend more on holidays in the next six-month period, with those over 65 at the forefront of the trend.

BDO also highlighted research from the Office for National Statistics revealing more UK consumers travelled abroad in 2024 than ever before. A total of 94.6 million travelled overseas, compared with 93.1 million in the previous record year (2019).