Mergers & Acquisitions

🌎 TravCorp Holdings Ltd has acquired Specialist Holidays Group from Travelopia, adding Citalia, American Holidays, and Sovereign Luxury Travel to its portfolio. Led by Helen Adamson, who remains as Managing Director, this acquisition is backed by BGF and aims to enhance TravCorp's growth strategy under CEO Andy Freeth and Chair Andrew Botterill. The acquisition strengthens TravCorp's reputation for customer-centered service and destination knowledge.

🏨 Barceló Hotel Group acquired a 338-room hotel in Levallois-Perret, near Paris, for €70 million. This strategic acquisition marks Barceló's entry into the French market. The hotel, now part of the upscale Occidental Hotels & Resorts brand, is located in the Front de Seine business district and offers 700 m² of meeting space. This purchase is part of Barceló's broader European expansion, bringing its total to 108 hotels in the continent.

🏖️ Ikos Kissamos, an €150 million investment, will open with 414 rooms and suites. Located in Crete, the resort targets LEED Gold certification and aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. It will feature eco-friendly practices like eliminating single-use plastics and water reuse, and offer attractions such as Balos Lagoon and Samaria Gorge. Ikos Resorts also opened Ikos Odisia in Corfu, reinforcing their luxury, sustainable tourism strategy in the Mediterranean.

🏨 CitizenM's CEO, Lennert de Jong, discussed their strategic partnership with Marriott on Matthias Huettebraeuker's podcast. citizenM, with 36 assets, sold its brand to Marriott, marking one of Marriott's largest deals since Starwood. This collaboration allows citizenM to leverage Marriott's distribution platform, including access to 250 million Bonvoy users, while maintaining its ownership of real estate, which constitutes 90% of its value. New openings include Dublin and London, Soho, reflecting ongoing growth and operational integration.

🏖 Alannia, founded by Grupo Marjal in 1997, has added 1,000 accommodation units and 1,600 pitches to European Camping Group's (ECG) portfolio, which covers 450 destinations in 13 European countries. The acquisition enhances ECG's presence in Spain, where Alannia operates five resorts, after quadrupling revenue since partnering with Corpfin Capital in 2018. ECG's strategy focuses on expanding in Southern Europe, supported by KPMG and Garrigues, and includes recent acquisitions like Vacanceselect.