One of Britain’s biggest online travel agents (OTAs) is exploring a stock market listing – a move which could deliver a welcome boost to London’s fragile pipeline for initial public offerings (IPOs).
Sky News has learnt that the owner of Loveholidays is working with bankers on a flotation likely to value the company at well over £1bn.
City sources said on Thursday that initial meetings with institutional investors had been scheduled, although further details of a potential listing were unclear.
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Loveholidays has been backed by Livingbridge, a private equity firm, since 2018, and has seen its financial performance improve markedly since the COVID pandemic threw the travel industry into chaos.
The company specialises in trips to the Mediterranean and Canary Islands, and boasts that its inventory of 35,000 hotels and 99% of all flights result in 500 billion possible holiday packages.
It reportedly saw pre-tax profits rise by a fifth to £67.6m on sales of £284m in the year to October 2024.
Along with OnTheBeach and TUI, Loveholidays ranks among the UK’s biggest travel agents and has been a big winner from the post-pandemic resurgence in demand from holidaymakers.
Last year, Sky News reported that bidders including CVC Capital Partners, the private equity giant, were examining offers for a controlling stake in Loveholidays.
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When that process was curtailed, it is also said to have explored the sale of a minority stake.
Loveholidays was founded in 2012 by Alex Francis and Jonny Marsh, and now employs hundreds of people.
Livingbridge declined to comment.
