Agency Colpitts World Travel has been snapped up by a US rival for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition by Direct Travel, a venture-capital backed travel management firm based in Denver, Colorado, includes the purchase of Colpitts’s two Scottish offices in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
The firms said Colpitts will continue to trade under its current brand “for the foreseeable future” with both Scottish-based operations retaining their existing staff and management teams.
Direct Travel, which was itself acquired by Boston-based private equity firm Abry Partners in 2015, has annual sales of over $1.8billion (£1.4billion).
Privately-owned Colpitts has a worldwide sales volume totalling over £70 million.
Ian Scholes, director of European operations for Colpitts said: “This strategic partnership allows an agency of our size to gain significant advantage with suppliers and allows us to deliver new innovative technologies and enhanced services to our customers.
He added: “Direct Travel is affiliated with GlobalStar Travel Management which gives us access to a network of leading travel management companies in more than 85 countries and 3,500 locations worldwide.
“Under the Direct Travel umbrella we can therefore offer even greater innovation and quality in the services we deliver for our clients with much greater scope to deliver quantifiable savings through the size and scale of our global operation.
“It also reinforces our unrelenting commitment to quality, growth, exceptional service and integrity that has characterised our company and employees for over 20 years in the UK and 40 years in the US.”
Ed Adams, chief executive of Direct Travel, said: “This acquisition is an impressive addition to our organisation, supports our growth strategy, and provides further opportunity for the investment in strategic business practices across our enterprise.”
