TTC’s new chairman Carl Leaver speaks on M&A plans and ‘fragmented’ travel industry

Earlier this year, the travel industry was shocked to learn that family-owned The Travel Corporation (TTC) had been acquired by US private equity firm Apollo for an undisclosed sum. Travel Weekly spoke with the group’s recently appointed UK-based chairman Carl Leaver to learn more about what the shift in ownership will mean for the tour operator and the wider industry.

Who is Carl Leaver? 

Carl Leaver is somewhat new to travel – although he has worked in the hotel industry before. As well as being chairman of TTC, he is also chairman of Lebara, a telecommunications company controlled by private equity firms Alchemy and Triton, and Chairman of TopHat Enterprises, a manufacturer and developer of modular housing majority-owned by Goldman Sachs. He was previously Chairman of Eircom Group in Ireland, which he helped to sell in April 2018.

His most recent executive role was group CEO of the English betting company Gala Coral. He led a turnaround of the business, before merging with Ladbrokes plc in November 2017, delivering substantial returns for its private equity shareholders.

What will being private equity-backed mean for TTC?

When it comes to what Apollo’s backing will mean for TTC, Leaver keeps it simple – “More investment,” he says.

“Apollo is, is an owner with very deep pockets, and it wants to grow the business both by investing in what we already own – investing in the brands we have, the IT and the systems that we have, and the people we have – but also through M&A: we want to grow the business substantially over the next few years.”

In terms of the businesses that TTC has its eye on, Leaver said it is primarily land-based cruising and river touring businesses as these have “obvious synergies”, however, there are also “parallel or adjacent businesses, like FIT that would complement what we do very well”.

Whilst Leaver is happy to use technology such as AI to improve systems, he makes it clear that TTC is not aiming to become a tech pioneer.

“I don’t expect us to be at the leading edge of the AI revolution. It’s not what we do. But you know, where user cases are proven, then of course, we’ll adopt those user cases to be as efficient as we can, but that’s within the context of a business that’s growing. We’re aiming to do more with what we have, rather than continuing doing what we’re doing with less.”

What makes travel an attractive investment opportunity?

Whilst Leaver may be new(ish) to the world of travel, he is pretty seasoned when it comes to identifying good business opportunities. So, what makes travel stand out as a positive investment opportunity?

“The demographic trends are incredibly positive,” he says, “both in terms of people, the sort of the ageing population where people have got more time. The current ageing population is the golden generation – they’ve benefited from fantastic pensions, house price growth, etc, they’ve got all the money.

“Technology has also made the world a much smaller place,” he adds. He names the boom in passport penetration in the US as an example of this.

“It’s not just the growing population and the wealth, that demographic is also very interested in travel. So all of those underlying trends are super positive.”

A fragmented industry?

The “fragmented” nature of the travel industry also makes it attractive for consolidation, Leaver says.

“It’s an industry that’s very fragmented. There’s lots of small companies, many founder-operated, that have been amazingly entrepreneurial and creative, but sometimes don’t always have the best systems and best practices in place. That’s probably our expertise, we can bring that to the industry and build an amazing platform that can grow.”

It is the combination of “amazing underlying trends” and the fragmentation of the industry that makes it so attractive, Leaver says.

What scale of businesses is TTC looking to buy? 

When it comes to looking at what scale of business TTC is looking at, Leaver makes it clear that Apollo has the means to buy larger businesses but adds that its priority is investing in TTC as it stands today.

“TTC is a big business in many respects, but for Apollo, it’s quite a small investment. It’s all relative,” he says. “We would look at businesses of a similar scale, or even a larger scale, right down to businesses that are significantly smaller.

“Obviously people get excited about M&A, that’s the sexy stuff, but the core reason that Apollo bought this business, the core reason that I’m here, is, because it’s a great business. It’s got great brands. It’s got great people, and there is an opportunity to invest in the in the business in terms of new systems, greater investment, and greater advertising investment to increase awareness. It’s those kinds of opportunities that are priority number one.”

Can we expect further leadership changes? 

Leaver makes it clear that the leadership changes announced last month, are the latest. During the 30 October update, TTC revealed that Dave Hosking’s role as CEO of TTC will not be replaced in Australia and New Zealand. Toni Ambler has stepped into the lead position within the Australia and New Zealand region as managing director TTC Tour Brands Oceania.

Speaking on Ambler, Leaver said: “Toni is great. I’ve really enjoyed getting to meet her over the last few days. She’s doing a great job. She’s got, as far as far as I can see, great relationships with the trade and understands the brands well, and she’s a great leader.”

TTC names Toni Ambler as ANZ lead as CEO Dave Hosking retires