Travel firm merger creates £400m turnover business
THE owner of Manchester-based £200m turnover business Clarity Travel Management has bought Surrey rival Portman Travel and merged the two companies to create the seventh biggest firm of its kind in the country.
Chertsey-headquartered Portman has been acquired by the owners of CTM, Mawasem Travel and Tourism for an undisclosed fee.
Pat McDonagh, chief executive of Clarity, will lead the merger of the two businesses, which will be headquartered in Clarity’s existing building on Oxford Street in Manchester.
Founded in 2015, following Mawasem’s acquisition of Co-operative Travel Management, Clarity has grown rapidly to become a £200m turnover business, employing 300 staff across the UK.
Clarity now handles in excess of a million business travel trips per year for clients across the corporate, public sector, retail, sport and charity sectors.
McDonagh said: “The merger brings together the best talent and experience from both businesses to create a new travel management company with increased buying power, international reach and expertise through a significant shareholding in Radius Travel, a broader base, market leading technology and best in class service.
“Portman Travel and Clarity are similar sized organisations, with combined gross annual sales of over £400m and proven track records – together we have an opportunity to create something that is truly market leading.
“Choosing Manchester as the headquarters for the new business makes perfect economic sense. It keeps us close to our many branches and offices, including our customer support centres in Scotland, our training academy in Ireland and our office in the Netherlands.”
McDonagh, 35, launched Clarity in 2015 from his previous role as chief executive of Co-operative Travel Management. Previously, he held senior commercial roles at MyTravel and Thomas Cook.
