ORIGINALLY FEATURED IN "MERGERS AND AQUISITIONS INTERNATIONAL"
Kirker Travel, the independent provider of premium city break holidays to Europe and New York, has been sold to a management buy-out/buy-in team (BIMBO) for a multi million pound sum, around £15 million according to press speculation.
The BIMBO team was led by John MacNeill, formerly of Thomson Holidays and First Choice. The team also included Simon Vardigans, who becomes the new finance director, and a new non-executive chairman Ron Haylock, who has experience at RCI, Holiday Autos and Hoseasons Holidays. Two members of the existing management, Ted Wake and Andrew Layard, have also joined the board of the new company.
Kirker Travel was sold by Christopher and Angy Kirker, who founded the company In 1986.
The BIMBO team was backed by the private equity firm ECI VENTURES, which has a particular focus on investments in the travel, leisure and hospitality sectors. It has appointed Chris Watt as a non-executive director of Kirker.
Christopher and Angy Kirker were advised by Continental Capital Partners (CCP), with managing director Roger Luscombe leading its team. He said that during 2001, a proposed BIMBO of the business had been put together but had fallen through due to the events of September 11, however the two founders and majority shareholders decided to continue with the disposal of their business. "As a former chairman of the Association of Independent Travel Operators (AlTO), Christopher Kirker wanted the company to remain independent and was therefore not particularly keen on a trade sale to a competitor. He wished to withdraw himself from day to day operational responsibility and to bring in additional top management to expand the company."
CCP developed an information memorandum on Kirker, which demonstrated that the company was the market leader in premium breaks to continental Europe, as well as possessing an enviable financial track record plus high market visibility. CCP recommended that the vendors focus on the financial buyer market to secure the company's independence, as well as assist in the identification of key management to replace the founders. ECI Ventures was therefore approached because of their investments in previous travel MBOs', (Hoseasons and Holidays Autos). " A favourable deal was negotiated for the vendors during one of the worst periods of negative sentiment in the travel sector's history," added Luscombe, who would not comment on valuations.
The complex buy-in/management buy-out was put together involving four different constituents over a period of three months from September through to December 2002, involving the vendor, financial buyer, the in-house management team and the external new management buy-in team of three. CCP was able to meet the challenge set by the founders of Kirker because of a strong track record in travel and services sector corporate finance, as well as considerable knowledge of the private equity market.
CCP's deals have included in recent years the sale of Explore Worldwide to Holidaybreak plc, the sale of Panorama to Airtours (now MyTravel plc) plus a recent disposal from Holiday Places Group to Canvas Holidays. "There is always a home for specialist travel companies with a unique brand and demonstrable track record, whatever the current market sentiment," Luscombe said. Another observer/participant in the transaction has remarked: "Without CCP there would have been no sale of the company."
Paul Quinn, the head of Mercuri Urval's management audit activities in UK corporate finance, was appointed by ECI VENTURES to provide a detailed objective assessment of the strengths and limitations of the new management team.
CALL CCP 0207 630 2010 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
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