ECI Partners sells Travel Chapter to management team
UK: Private equity firm ECI Partners has announced that it has sold Devon-based holiday letting agency Travel Chapter to the management team, supported by investment from Intermediate Capital Group [ICG].
ECI bought its stake in the company four years ago, and since then, Travel Chapter has grown organically and through seven acquisitions, most notably Sally’s Cottages last June, which owned a portfolio of more than 500 properties in the Lake District.
Offering a selection of 8,000 properties across the UK, Travel Chapter’s brands include Holidaycottages.co.uk, and regional businesses such as Canine Cottages and Cottages & Castles.
Jayne McClure, chief executive of Travel Chapter, told Travel Weekly: “ECI have been highly supportive in helping Travel Chapter deliver on both organic and acquisitive growth. Our shared alignment on the importance of both owners and customers helped us to attract fantastic new properties and continue to deliver our exceptional customer service as we have scaled.
“I’d like to thank them for a successful partnership and I look forward to working with ICG over the coming years as we continue to deliver on the growth potential of the Travel Chapter brands,” she added.
George Moss, partner at ECI, told the same publication: “Jayne and the team have done a fantastic job building the business through both M&A and organic growth and shown great leadership of a resilient business against a challenging Covid backdrop. Travel Chapter’s focus on high quality properties and excellent owner and customer service means they are really well placed to benefit from the enhanced long-term growth trends in the staycation sector.”
James Roddis, managing director at ICG, said: “We are delighted to partner with Travel Chapter’s exceptional management team, who have succeeded in building a market leading holiday rental platform, offering fantastic service to both property owners and customers. We believe there is huge further growth potential for the business and we are looking forward to working with Jayne and the wider management team in the next exciting stage in Travel Chapter’s journey.”
It was reported late last year that Travel Chapter, which was founded in 1989, was preparing to go public by filing for an initial public offering [IPO] but the planned float was delayed in November due to “market volatility”.
