Deal type
Sector
Acquisition of Tropical Locations
Having successfully completed the flotation of Western & Oriental plc in March 2006, HMT Corporate Finance acted as reporting accountants on the acquisition of the trade and certain assets of Tropical Locations, a division of Bob Mortimore Travel Limited.
A well established business, TL offers deluxe tailor made holidays, principally to the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, South Africa and the Caribbean.
The acquisition of Tropical Locations, which is W&O’s seventh since flotation, is in line with W&O’s strategy of growth by acquisition. It extends W&O’s product offering and provides the group with a number of synergies and cross selling opportunities.
David Howell, CEO of W&O commented, “Tropical Locations is an acknowledged expert for luxury destinations in the Far East and this acquisition is an important geographic addition to the Western & Oriental group. We will also benefit from the increased product breadth in the Indian Ocean, South Africa and the Caribbean which will further enhance our scale as a group in these regions”.
Bruce Morrison commented, “We were delighted to act for W&O on this its seventh acquisition since flotation in its buy and build strategy. We believe that the acquisition of TL, which has a strong reputation for de luxe holidays, adds both geographical reach, particularly to the Far East, and is a perfect fit to the W&O business, providing W&O with an exciting opportunity to continue its success”.