Springboard Corporate Finance is pleased to announce that it has advised Sykes Holiday Cottages on their latest deal to acquire Pure Cottages Group from private equity investor LDC for an undisclosed sum.
The Pure Cottages Group is a collection of five luxury rental agencies created following LDC’s investment in Lakelovers in December 2017 and its support of the business’ acquisitive growth strategy.
Pure Cottages Group oversees more than 1,500 such sites throughout Cumbria, Cornwall and the Cotswolds having acquired Heart of the Lakes, Lake District Lodge Holidays, Character Cottages, John Bray Cornish Holidays and Maid in the Cotswolds during its partnership with the firm.
The brands within the Pure Cottages Group will join Sykes’ existing portfolio, which includes Cornish Cottage Holidays, Helpful Holidays and Menai Holidays.
The deal comes on the back of a record year for Chester-headquartered Sykes, with bookings up 26 percent year-on-year in 2019 and sales and profits rising to £68m and £20m respectively. It currently employs more than 600 staff across 16 UK offices and took 1.6 million travellers on holiday in 2019.
Graham Donoghue, chief executive of Sykes Holiday Cottages, said: “The Pure Cottages Group is well established in some of the UK’s most popular holiday hotspots, so the deal bolsters our range of premium holiday homes in Cumbria, Cornwall and the Cotswolds.
With the team at Pure Cottages on board, we’re able to give our customers even greater choice alongside local expertise. By continuing to invest in the business and grow our family of brands, we’re also supporting the long-term success of each holiday let for its owner.”
Springboard Partner Simon Ward, Director James Bailey and Manager David Lee advised the Sykes shareholders on the acquisition. Simon commented “Having worked with the Sykes team for several years on a dozen acquisitions we are delighted to have delivered the Pure transaction, Sykes largest acquisition to date. Having secured new investment from Vitruvian in 2019, Sykes is well positioned to continue its impressive acquisition strategy in 2020 and beyond.”
Michael Graham, Chief Financial Officer - Sykes Cottages
Successfully delivering multiple acquisitions has been a key focus for us. Springboard have quickly become an integral part of the Sykes acquisition team. Their counsel and support across a varied range of situations and challenges has been absolutely invaluable to us.
