Manchester’s First Class Holidays has acquired The Knavesmire Travel Group – trading as African Pride and Knighton Reeve – in a multimillion-pound deal.
First Class was supported in the move by Daresbury investors PHD Industrial Holdings. It is the latest growth for the Old Trafford-based firm which launched Japan and Southeast Asia as new travel destinations earlier this year.
African Pride and Knighton Reeve specialise in tailor made holidays to African destinations including South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania. They serve and extensive network of UK travel agents after 25 years in the industry. African Pride’s founders will continue to play a key role within the organisation and the African Pride and Knighton Reeve brands will retain their identity.
Dan Gathercole, managing director at First Class Holidays, said: “Our acquisition of African Pride reflects the determination of the First Class Holidays team to grow and acquire, strengthening our current offering and market position. We’re grateful for the continuing support from PHD Industrial Holdings over the years, and we look forward to this next stage of growth for the team.”
Liz Hall, co-owner of African Pride, said: “Working with Dan and the team to get the acquisition of our business over the line has been great. Making the decision to sell our business was a big one – First Class Holiday had a similar vision and alignment, which made us feel at ease. We trusted Dan throughout the whole process, and we’re excited to see how the combined team takes African Pride from strength to strength.”
Andy Dodd, director at PHD Industrial Holdings, said: “The travel industry is one that has struggled across the board over the last couple of years. We have worked closely with Dan and the team to support First Class Holidays since our initial investment almost a decade ago. With PHD’s support, First Class Holidays has invested in its staff and operations, putting them in a position where they can now acquire new businesses and continue to grow.”
First Class Holidays was provided legal advice by Jonathan Robinson, Rosie Spencer, and Anthea Nelson at DWF; regulatory advice from Christopher Photi at White Hart Associates; financial and tax due diligence advice from Rob Dawes at MHA, andinsurance due diligence advice from Daniel Blake and Peter Warbuton at Vista Insurance. African Pride was advised by Martin Alcock and Wilf Watkins at Travel Trade Consultancy.
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