In September 2022, PCP provided a EUR 60 million loan facility to the hotel owning arm of Nordic Leisure Travel Group AB (“NLTG”), the market leading tour operator in the Nordics, selling packaged holidays under the well-known brands Ving, Spies and Tjäreborg. NLTG has an integrated business model being a tour operator, owner and manager of their hotel portfolio and operating their own airline Sunclass, with short- and long-haul destinations across the world. During a normal year, the company sells around 1.6 million trips from the Nordic region to c. 380 destinations, across 59 countries.
Since the foundation of Ving AB in 1956, NLTG has established itself as the leading tour operator in the Nordics through vertical integration. NLTG was the Nordic division of the international tour operator Thomas Cook until their bankruptcy in 2019, when NLTG was acquired by the consortium of Altor, Strawberry Capital and TDR Capital. The proceeds from PCP will primarily finance the company’s expansion of its hotel portfolio and continued growth. PCP has a long experience from the North European tour operations market from previous investments and have established a close relationship with the management team and the owners.
David Ullenius, Managing Director at PCP: “NLTG has a strong value proposition centered around a complete package offering for its customers with high service ambitions and a wide assortment of destinations at various price points. Covid-19 had a direct impact on the leisure market with several of their key markets closing down. Recovering from the unprecedented business interruption that the travel industry experienced during Covid-19, the company is now expecting activity to return in the upcoming seasons. Through the pandemic, NLTG proved that the business model could adapt whilst protecting its leading market position. Inspite of the turbulent macro situation at present, we see a clear path towards higher activity levels and growth opportunities for NLTG. The above, coupled with a strong and knowledgeable shareholder group, a market leading management team and highly valuable real assets, NLTG is well positioned to capitalize from the resiliency and long-term growth in the tour operator industry.“
Magnus Wikner CEO NLTG: “We are very happy about the collaboration with PCP. The loan facility has given us the opportunity to fully control one of our most important concept hotels, and that we can thus deliver a better customer experience and increase our earnings. We are impressed by the commitment and keen interest the PCP team has shown in NLTG and our business model, in the process that led to this loan facility”
September, 2022