Gray Dawes Group has acquired travel management business, Ventur Travel, formerly known as Traveleads, and will bring it under the Gray Dawes brand.
The acquisition of Ventur, which is based in Leeds and Edinburgh, takes family-owned Gray Dawes Group’s turnover to over of £250 million and means it will have more than 200 employees.
Posting on LinkedIn on the day of the announcement, Suzanne Horner, Gray Dawes Group CEO, hinted at more acquisitions to come, saying: “We are back on it for sure ….. 1 down and ….. to go.”
The acquisition also sees Ventur Travel’s specialist leisure division, Ventur Luxury, based in Harrogate, join the Gray Dawes Group.
Traveleads rebranded as Ventur in May 2021 and earlier that year it acquired Surrey-based Omega Business Travel. In June 2020 it bought Sterling Travel Management.
The Ventur business travel operation will be rebranded as Gray Dawes Travel once systems and processes are in place and staff have been fully trained “so clients see and feel the difference”, said a spokesman.
Gray Dawes has taken over the leases on Ventur’s offices in Leeds, Edinburgh and Harrorgate, which will all remain.
Horner said: “I have long admired the business that Gary McLeod, Elaine Holmes and their team have built, first as Traveleads and now as Ventur.
“This latest chapter in our development – Gray Dawes’ eleventh acquisition to date – marks such an exciting time for us and our customers.
“Following the challenges of the last two years, Gray Dawes are fantastically placed, both financially and from a skills perspective, to really drive our recovery while developing all parts of the business and new ventures.
“Through strong management, belief in our people, innovative technology and outstanding customer service, Gray Dawes have weathered the pandemic storm of the last two years better than most.”
Gary McLeod, Ventur Business Transition Consultant and former joint Managing Director of Traveleads, added: “I am very excited by the opportunity to work with Suzanne and her team, and thrilled for Ventur’s staff to be part of an award-winning travel management company.
“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 opportunities to our staff and clients alike.”
