Family-owned Gray Dawes Group has purchased Australian-based Verve Travel & Leisure, bringing its global acquisitions to 16 with the integration of the AUD$35 million annual turnover business.
The acquisition of Melbourne-based Verve Travel & Leisure includes the Australian company’s Verve Travel Management business travel division and the leisure retail office of Bay Travel & Cruise.
With this purchase, Gray Dawes Group strengthens its position and global offering to corporate and luxury leisure markets, growing its annual turnover to more than £600 million (around AUD$1.2 billion) and a worldwide employee base of over 550.
Verve Travel & Leisure is a family-owned business, managed by Kathryn and Kurt Sari, with offices in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Both travel management specialists share many synergies and are known for technical innovation and high-touch service for their corporate and leisure travel clients.
Gray Dawes Group CEO Suzanne Horner said: “I have long admired the business Kathryn and Kurt Sari and their team have built. This latest chapter in our development – Gray Dawes’ 16th acquisition – marks such an exciting time for us and our clients.”
“Our clients increasingly want global solutions, even the smaller ones. We’ve been very successful picking up businesses in the UK, Australia, the US and Europe and integrating them. Now, we’re excited to incorporate Verve Travel into our group.”
Verve Travel Joint Managing Director Kathryn Sari said: “I am very excited by the opportunity to work with Suzanne and her team and thrilled for Verve Travel’s staff to be part of an international award-winning travel management company.”
Verve Travel Joint Managing Director Kurt Sari added: “There are so many synergies across the businesses, which makes this a very natural fit. By being part of the Gray Dawes Group, we will be even stronger and able to deliver enhanced global opportunities to our staff and clients alike.”
Find out more at graydawes.org
