Travel Counsellors acquires Canada's The Travel Agent Next Door
Travel Counsellors, the technology platform for travel entrepreneurs with operations in Ireland, has agreed to acquire Canada's The Travel Agent Next Door.
Backed by Vitruvian Partners, Travel Counsellors expects the deal to create a transatlantic leader in the travel operator market while marking a significant milestone in its international expansion.
The company's scalable technology platform is used by more than 2,200 travel entrepreneurs, including more than 80 in Ireland, and is supported with annual investment of £20m.
The platform recently launched TC Co-Pilot, Travel Counsellors' propriety, data-driven AI agent designed to enhance productivity.
The Travel Agent Next Door supports more than 1,700 independent travel professionals and generates annual turnover in excess of 500m Canadian dollars.
Co-founded by CEO Flemming Friisdahl, TTAND has scaled rapidly over the past decade to become the clear leader in providing personalised, premium leisure travel advice in Canada, one of the largest outbound travel markets in the world.
The acquisition will allow both businesses to benefit from superior scale, a more diversified international profile with strong brands in the UK and Canada, and cross-company knowledge sharing.
Friisdahl, who will continue to lead TTAND as CEO, said: “I have always looked at Travel Counsellors as a leader when it comes to travel professionals that work remotely and flexibly, and I am very excited to be partnering with them for two very important reasons.
"Number one is the culture, it aligns very much with the TTAND culture, given it is all about our support team and our agent partners. The second reason is their commitment to being innovative and bringing the most effective technology tools to their community of travel experts.
"We cannot wait to bring some of the benefits of Travel Counsellors’ sector-leading technology and product to support our team in Canada.”
The deal marks the Travel Counsellors' third acquisition in the past three years following the acquisitions of UK leisure travel company Holidayplease in March 2023 and the Planisto technology platform in January 2024.
During its last financial year, the Travel Counsellors achieved total transaction value of £1.1bn and EBITDA of £40m, representing two-fould growth since Covid and compound EBITDA growth of 15% over the past three years.
As a result of the acquisition, the enlarged Group is expected to achieve total transaction value of £1.5bn and EBITDA of £50m in the next 12 months.
"We have our sights firmly set on doubling the size of the business in the coming years underpinned by the relevance and scalability of our model," said Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors.
"In a time of accelerated change in the industry, we are confident that companies that can deploy best in breed AI tools, alongside the human touch and personalisation relevant to customers and their preferences, have great opportunities to do well.
Young Asian woman carrying suitcase and holding passport on hand, walking in airport terminal. Travel and vacation concept.
"Our customers want the best advice and travel experiences that are relevant to them, as well as superior, trusted support in case things go wrong.
"Travel Counsellors’ mission is to embrace the opportunities from AI and offer these to our community of travel experts via our platform, in turn giving customers high levels of confidence and trust in a time of change.”
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