The majority of the Hotelplan Group has been acquired by Kuoni parent company Dertour Group for an undisclosed sum.
The group was put up for sale by Swiss parent Migros in February 2024 as it looked to refocus on its core retail, financial services and health businesses in Switzerland, where it is a major retail and financial services co-operative.
A deal was expected to be announced in the first quarter of this year, with Dertour Group identified as the likely buyer.
The Hotelplan Group includes Switzerland’s largest travel company, Hotelplan Suisse, and Hotelplan UK which owns specialist operators Inghams and Explore, ski operator Esprit, Santa’s Lapland and Inntravel.
The group also comprises holiday rental specialist Interhome and travel management companies Finass Reisen and BTA First Travel. Interhome is not part of the deal and is being taken over by German company HomeToGo Group.
The new owners said the brands would “complement the growing portfolio of specialist travel businesses under the Dertour UK umbrella and will remain bookable through all direct and trade channels”.
More: Hotelplan sale expected to go through in first quarter of 2025
Ingo Burmester, chief executive Central Europe and member of the Dertour Group’s executive board, said: “We are delighted to take over the Hotelplan Group with its strong collection of travel brands and lead them to further growth in our tourism network, with clear advantages for employees, guests and partners.
“As the tourism division of the cooperatively organised REWE Group, we are an attractive employer and we already share common values with the Hotelplan Group. These include excellent customer experience, personalised advice and sustainability.”
Michel Gruber, chairman of the Hotelplan Group board of directors and head of the retail department at the Federation of Migros Cooperatives, added: “We are delighted to have found a highly renowned new owner in Dertour. Dertour is ideally placed to continue the successful development of the Hotelplan Group brands.”
Laura Meyer, chief executive of Hotelplan Group, said: “We are looking forward to this new chapter with Dertour Group as the new owner of our travel retail and tour operating business in Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom. Dertour Group shares our passion for travel and brings exciting opportunities for our company and our customers – and they value our dedicated and talented teams.”
When putting the company up for sale, Migros pledged “to look for suitable buyers carefully”, noting: “We are specifically seeking new owners who have a strong foundation for successfully developing the companies.”
In an interview with Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick in December, chief executive Mario Irminger said “a few official clarifications are still needed” from regulatory bodies, including in the UK, noting: “In Britain, a change of ownership in the travel industry requires official authorisation.”
Francis Torrilla, interim chief executive of Dertour UK, said: “This step aligns with our strategy to expand our portfolio of specialist travel brands in the UK market. We’re committed to retaining all the brands and supporting them. And we are convinced that the strong brands within the Hotelplan Group in the UK, which will all be continued, will complement our existing collection excellently.”
Dertour UK has about 650 employees and almost 30 Kuoni-branded retail outlets and has recently grown through the acquisition of Solmar Villas. In addition to Kuoni, other specialist brands within the Dertour UK group include Carrier, CV Villas, Journey Latin America, Jules Verne and Kirker.
Hotelplan UK chief executive Joe Ponte added: “After a thorough process, we are pleased that The Dertour Group has been confirmed as the new owner of Hotelplan Group, including our UK-based brands Inghams, Explore Worldwide, Inntravel and Santa’s Lapland.
“The Dertour Group has a long history and rich experience in the industry and we’re confident that our specialist brands, products and people will continue to flourish under this new ownership.”