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Travel Counsellors touted for £200m sale

Travel Counsellors is being tipped for a possible sale worth up to £200 million.

The private equity owner of Travel Counsellors is reported by the Sunday Times to have appointed the investment bank Rothschild to sell, float or refinance the business, according to City sources.

Travel Counsellors had revenue of £188 million in 2016, meaning it would be worth between £150 million and £200 million in a sale.

The company was started in 1994 by David Speakman, who came up with the idea of using travel planners working from home.

Travel Counsellors now has 1,700 agents, who help customers plan holidays, cruises, honeymoons and business travel.

Speakman sold to the buyout firm Equistone in 2014 for £100 million.

Chief executive Steve Byrne was quoted last summer as saying the company was “looking at our options” regarding the next stage of growth.

This could involve strategies including engaging another private equity fund to invest in the business or to list on the stock market.

“An IPO is a consideration,” he said.

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