UK-based Gray Dawes Group has acquired Australia¡¯s Verve Travel and Leisure, which includes both Verve Travel Management and leisure agency Bay Travel and Cruise.

It is the group¡¯s 16^th?acquisition in recent years and takes Gray Dawes¡¯ combined turnover to more than ?600 million and employee numbers up to over 550. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

After a series of UK deals, the company has established a global presence in recent years, acquiring Australian agency MP Travel and Florida¡¯s Express Travel in 2023, followed by Dutch TMC VCK Travel earlier this year, which Gray Dawes said would ¡°almost double¡± the size of the business.

¡°Our clients increasingly want global solutions, even the smaller ones,¡± said Suzanne Horner, Gray Dawes Group CEO. ¡°They¡¯re taking us on the journey. We¡¯ve been very successful picking up businesses in the UK, Australia, the US and Europe and integrating them. We know how to do that well. Now, we¡¯re excited to incorporate Verve Travel into our group.¡±

Horner also stressed the company¡¯s ¡®round-the-sun¡¯ service capability and added that ¡®out of hours¡¯ is ¡°simply no longer a thing¡­ we are always on¡±.

Family-owned Verve Travel was set up in 2001 and has offices in Melbourne and Brisbane. The travel firm is run by joint managing directors Kathryn and Kurt Sari.

¡°There are so many synergies across the businesses which makes this a very natural fit,¡± said Kurt Sari. ¡°By being part of the Gray Dawes Group, we will be even stronger and able to deliver enhanced global opportunities to our staff and clients alike.¡±

Gray Dawes was ranked as the 11^th largest TMC in the UK and the 15^th largest in Europe in the list of Europe¡¯s Leading TMCs 2024, based on its 2023 sales figures.