Specialist Tours

In May 2015, Panoramic sold its stake in Specialist Tours, a niche multi-brand tour operator in a secondary buyout to Kings Park Capital and management.

The sale generated a strong return on investment for Panoramic in the two and a half years since it invested.

How did Panoramic make a difference?

Over the period of Panoramic’s investment and under the tenure of CEO Ian Finlay, Specialist Tours purchased and successfully integrated three niche travel businesses: Andante Travels, the UK market leader in archaeological travel (2013); Historical Trips, offering history-themed tours led by expert and celebrity historians (2014); and, New York-based Archaeological Tours (2014).

During Panoramic’s investment period, the business more than doubled its revenue to over £9m and now provides a service to almost 5,000 holidaymakers a year, visiting more than 80 destinations.

The team has been recognised for their efforts including being winners of the ‘Best Small Company for Customer Service’ in the British Travel Awards in 2013.

Ian Finlay, CEO of Specialist Tours:
“Panoramic’s investment in Specialist Tours and their active role has been invaluable in helping the group to grow to where it is now. We have grown very fast and they helped us to maintain that in a controlled and professional way and to put in place a platform to support our active acquisition programme.”