UK travel M&A surged in 2025 — the buy-and-build playbook reshaping luxury tour operators and agencies

UK travel M&A surged in 2025 as deal activity moved from “recovery” to consolidation.

One UK deal tracker reported that Q3 2025 travel deal volumes rose 35% year-on-year (vs Q3 2024) and were up 8% quarter-on-quarter, with tour operators and luxury travel featuring several private-equity-backed buy-and-build deals.

At the same time, an industry investment briefing for WTM London said the first three quarters of 2025 were an all-time high for investments in travel companies, led by debt, private equity, and strategics—a sign that capital was actively hunting scale in travel again.

UK travel M&A surged in 2025: what the buy-and-build playbook looks like now

Buy-and-build is simple in concept: acquire a strong platform brand, then add bolt-ons to widen product, geography, or distribution—often with PE funding and a clear path to efficiencies.

In 2025, that playbook showed up most clearly in premium escorted touring and cruise-heavy distribution, where affluent customers value reassurance, expertise, and service—advantages that scale can amplify.

Deal example 1: Premium escorted tours get a PE platform

In May 2025, Vitruvian Partners acquired Great Rail Journeys, a specialist premium/luxury escorted tour operator known for scenic rail (and broader) itineraries. The company itself framed the transaction as a move to support “high growth” and scale a premium travel specialist.

Why this matters for the UK luxury travel ecosystem: escorted touring has become a consolidation target because it combines higher average order values with repeatable operations (departure schedules, contracted inventory, curated product). The Times described the deal as valued at over £200m, underlining how financial sponsors increasingly view “premium escorted” as a scalable category rather than a niche.

Deal example 2: A high-street giant buys a digital cruise specialist

In July 2025, Hays Travel acquired Victoria Travel Group, the parent behind Cruise.co.uk (and related brands). This was widely covered as Hays’ entry into a larger, more deliberate online cruise push—exactly the kind of distribution expansion that buy-and-build is designed to achieve.

One advisor summary of the deal said Victoria Travel Group reported a total transaction value of £252m in its most recent financial year, highlighting the scale Hays was buying in one move.

Deal example 3: Cruise distribution keeps consolidating

Beyond UK buyers, 2025 also saw international groups chase UK cruise scale. A recent report said Flight Centre acquired UK cruise agency Iglu for $200m, describing Iglu as having a large share of UK cruise bookings and a heavily online sales mix.

This fits the same consolidation logic: cruise is operationally complex, marketing-intensive, and increasingly tech-driven—conditions where scaled platforms can outcompete smaller independents.

Why deal activity accelerated in 2025

The 2025 surge wasn’t only “optimism.” It was structure:

• Private equity returned to travel platforms. UK travel commentary explicitly pointed to PE-backed buy-and-build activity in 2025, particularly in tour operators and luxury travel.

• Cross-border appetite increased. The same UK tracker noted rising UK investment abroad and more inbound interest, even as purely domestic investment softened.

• M&A conditions improved globally. A 2025 study cited by Reuters said global M&A value rose 10% in the first nine months of 2025 versus 2024—supporting the idea that dealmaking was broadly thawing even with macro uncertainty.

  
  

What this reshapes for UK luxury tour operators and agencies

If UK travel M&A surged in 2025, the practical implications are already visible:

1. Distribution wars intensify (online + offline). Large groups are buying specialist online capability instead of building it slowly.

2. Premium specialists become platforms. Deals like Great Rail Journeys show premium escorted touring is treated as a scalable engine, not a boutique side-business.

3. Brands will need clearer positioning. As groups roll up similar products, the winners differentiate on itinerary design, service model, and trust signals—because price becomes easier to match at scale.

4. Supplier leverage shifts. Bigger buyers tend to negotiate better terms (and secure inventory access), which can squeeze smaller agencies unless they specialise sharply.