Inflexion backs the £73m buyout of On The Beach

Inflexion today announces that it has completed the £73m secondary buyout of On The Beach, the UK’s leading beach specialist online travel agent.

On The Beach operates a single online brand (www.onthebeach.co.uk) which has rapidly become the UK market leader for short-haul packaged beach holidays, carrying more than 900,000 passengers each year.

The UK travel market is currently going through a structural channel shift, away from high street travel agents towards online players like On The Beach. Online bookings now account for around 45% of the total packaged beach holiday market in the UK, and this segment is set to grow at around 10% per annum over the coming years.

Simon Turner, Managing Partner at Inflexion, commented: “On The Beach has grown rapidly over the last few years, taking market share from traditional, high street travel agents. The company has an exceptional management team which has developed a sophisticated and well-invested technology platform. Following our investment, we’ll support them to further grow the business in the UK, explore opportunities for international expansion and, with the help of our digital director, ensure the business is digitally optimised.”

Simon Cooper, Founder and CEO at On The Beach, said: “This is fantastic news for our business and we are delighted that Inflexion is investing in the next stage of growth for On the Beach. With their proven track record of working with businesses to grow both domestically and internationally, as well as their experience in the online retail sector, we feel they are the right partner for our business and we look forward to working together.”

Inflexion was advised by PwC, Pinsent Masons and BDO. Senior debt facilities were provided by Lloyds.