Global Leader in Adventure Travel Created

By Intrepid - TUI Deal

18th February 2011

TUI Travel has merged its adventure travel division with Intrepid Travel to create a global market leader in adventure travel. The new joint venture will be called PEAK Adventures and it will be 60% owned by TUI Travel PLC and 40% owned by Intrepid Travel's shareholders. The new venture will have revenues of £255m and comprise 20 different worldwide brands including Adventure Center, The Adventure Company, Adventure Tours Australia, Country Walkers, Exodus, Gecko's Adventures, Guerba, Headwater, Imaginative Traveller, Intrepid Suntrek, Intrepid Travel, Oz Experience, Peregrine, Pinnacle Tours, Sawadee, TrekAmerica and WesternXposure. TUI and Intrepid hope to make savings of £10m a year by merging their brands. TUI chief executive Peter Long said: "This deal with Intrepid Travel will significantly enhance our position in the fast growing adventure travel sector. We believe this venture has great potential for value creation through the increased scale, synergies and growth of the combined businesses." Intrepid Travel currently handles 100,000 customers a year with revenues of £69.4m for the year to the June 2010, with profits before tax of £5.3m. For the financial year to September 2010 TUI's adventure brands carried over 240,000 customers with revenues of £185.3m and profits before tax of £6.8m.