Press office

Holidaybreak is a European holiday group, specialising in educational travel, with market leading positions in the UK and other major European markets. Cox & Kings, which was established more than 250 years ago to cater to the British forces, has operations in countries including Australia, United States, Germany, Hong Kong, Greece and Singapore.

The deal, which is to be affected by the way of a scheme arrangement, is conditional upon shareholder approval. If approved, the sale of Holidaybreak is expected to help Cox & Kings meet the growing demand for education travel.

The Eversheds team advising Holidaybreak was led by corporate partner Daniel Hall with support from senior associate Alasdair Outhwaite and associate Geoff Allen.

Daniel said:

“We have worked with Holidaybreak for many years now and have helped the company grow into the successful education travel business it is today. It is a great honour to be advising the company on what promises to be the most significant strategic decision in its history. Holidaybreak and Cox & Kings are both strong, independent companies in their own right, and together they will be able to gain a strong market position as a full service international travel provider.”

Martin Davies, CEO of Holidaybreak, said:

“I am proud of the significant progress we have made towards our objective of transforming Holidaybreak into an education focused business, both through expansion into the pan-European education market through the acquisition of Meininger, and by building on our high quality brands. The potential sale of the company to Cox & Kings presents an exciting opportunity for Holidaybreak's customers and employees to benefit from being part of an international travel company which shares our passion for delivering unique and valued products to our customers. Eversheds has once again provided a first-rate service throughout this process.”