search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
market, wanting to assimilate the failure, but the private equity community is focused on specialists in the industry – on niche higher-growth businesses.”


DEALS BACKLOG


Dhillon suggested the private equity cycle means many of the businesses involved in transactions in the past four to five years are likely to see changes of ownership in the not-too-distant future. He said: “The vast majority of deals in travel over the last two years have been private equity- backed and businesses come into private equity ownership for a period of years.” Bland agreed, saying: “When the


market comes back, there will be a backlog of private equity assets. We could see more transactions in 2021.” Dhillon added: “There has been a


general slowdown in M&A in leisure, yet the Deloitte Q3 Consumer Tracker showed people are still spending on leisure. The volume of deals has slowed, but there are still some large deals.” One example was attractions group Merlin Entertainments which was taken private in a £4.8 billion buyout completed in November by a consortium including private equity giant Blackstone, Lego brand owner Kirkbi and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.


%


20 40 60


0


Dhillon said: “We’ve seen more public-


to-private transactions this year than for a while. Private investors see embedded value in these companies.” Bland added: “Globally, there is growth


in travel and tourism and deals have become easier although there is volatility.” He noted: “There is an ongoing trend


FIGURE 39:


WORKPLACE RECRUITMENT


% of CFOs reporting difficulty recruiting/ skills shortage


44% 31% 48% 49% 42% 44%


of consolidation in distribution. There is significant interest in UK domestic travel, where customer volatility has not been so great, and there remains interest in corporate travel where we continue to see cross-border and domestic consolidation.” Looking forward to 2020, Bland said:


“If Brexit gets off and the early-booking period goes well, we could see businesses coming up for sale in the second half of next year. We would also expect more M&A activity in Europe as relations with Europe settle down post-Brexit. We work across the leisure sector and a lot of deals are waiting to happen.” Dhillon agreed, saying: “My view is


M&A in travel will resume next year.” Bland foresees Brexit having limited


2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 Source: Deloitte CFO Survey


FIGURE 40: UK CONSUMER CONFIDENCE, 2016-19 ‘% point difference between those ‘confident’ and ‘not confident’ Q1


-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0


2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 -4


Q2 Q3 -5 -8 -14 -8 -14 -13 -14 -17 -21 -24 Overall confidence


Confidence in disposable income Source: Deloitte Consumer Tracker


-17 -19 -21 Q4 -6 Q1 -7 -10 -15 Q2 Q3 -7 Q4 -7 Q1 -6 -11 -16 -16 -18 Q2 Q3 -7 -9 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 -8 -8 -9 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2


impact on the leading financial position of the City of London and the consequent availability of finance for deals. He said: “There has not been the


exodus everyone forecast, although the uncertainty is not over. I’m reasonably confident because of the scale and transparency in London. So long as rules are clear, investors will be happy to invest.”


2019 ACTIVITY


It would be untrue to say there were no major deals in the past 12 months. Two of the biggest were announced last December and completed in 2019. Gatwick Airport changed hands in


a takeover by Vinci Airports of France, which acquired a 50.01% stake from Global Infrastructure Partners, with the latter continuing to manage the airport. The deal valued Gatwick at £7.5 billion. Travel technology group Travelport


was taken private in a $4.4 billion buyout by Evergreen Capital, part of US hedge


Travel Weekly Insight Report 2019-20 27


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52