Dertour’s deal is for four of Hotelplan’s five business units, including Hotelplan UK, which operates the Inghams, Explore Worldwide, Santa’s Lapland and Inntravel brands. Hotelplan’s specialist holiday home brand, Interhome, will instead by sold to HomeToGo Group.

Neither Dertour nor Hotelplan owner Migros Group, Switzerland’s largest retail group, have disclosed the terms of the agreement, which will yet be subject to regulatory approval.

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Operations across all four of Hotelplan UK’s trade-facing brands will continue as usual via the same contacts and through the same trade and direct booking channels.

"The takeover guarantees continuity for guests and sales partners," said Dertour. "All booked holidays and business trips will be carried out as planned."

Joe Ponte, Hotelplan UK chief executive, said: “After a thorough process, we are pleased Dertour Group has been confirmed as the new owner of Hotelplan Group, including our UK-based brands Inghams, Explore Worldwide, Inntravel and Santa’s Lapland.

"Dertour Group has a long history and rich experience in the industry and we’re confident our specialist brands, products and people will continue to flourish under this new ownership.”

Dertour, which operates more than 130 companies in 16 countries and has more than 10,000 employees, said Hotelplan’s "long-established brands" would further strengthen its diversity and expertise in tourism.

Francis Torrilla, Dertour UK’s interim chief executive, said the acquisition aligned with its strategy to expand its portfolio of specialist travel brands in the UK. These include Kuoni, along with its 30 retail outlets, as well as Carrier, CV Villas, Journey Latin America, Jules Verne, Kirker Holidays and recent acquisition Solmar Villas.

"We’re committed to retaining all the brands and supporting them," said Torrilla. "And we are convinced the strong brands within Hotelplan Group in the UK, which will all be continued, will complement our existing collection excellently."

News of the sale comes a year to the week since Migros confirmed it had put Hotelplan Group, its brands and subsidiares, up for sale.

Dr Ingo Burmester, Dertour chief executive central Europe, said the group would lead Hotelplan Group and its brands "to further growth", and stressed their were "clear advantages" to the acquisition for employees, guests and partners.

"We are an attractive employer and we already share common values with Hotelplan Group," said Burmester. "These include excellent customer experience, personalised advice and sustainability."

Leif Vase Larsen, Dertour chief executive international, added the group’s track record for developing brands spoke for itself.

"We were already able to demonstrate this with the acquisition of the Kuoni travel business in 2015, whose brands have since enjoyed significant growth," he said.

Dertour UK currently has around 650 UK employees. Hotelplan UK employees will be transferred over to the group upon the deal’s completion, should it gain regulatory approval.

’Shared benefits’

Dertour has already signalled its intention to seek "shared benefits" from Hotelplan’s membership of the group, including future "economies of scale in the tour operator business". These include basing the group and its brands "on a joint technological platform".

Burmester said Hotelplan would have access to "a large, global partner network", which would drive "system and production advantages", while guests would in future benefit from "an even wider range of offers".

Larsen said Hotelplan’s major tour operator brands would benefit from Dertour’s scalable platform, and Dertour in return from Hotelplan’s strategic investments in digital solutions. "In tourism today, IT systems for reservations, bookings, purchasing and production are key success factors," he said.

Burmester added: "My message is clear. Today is a good day for employees, guests and partners. The move creates continuity and further strengthens the Hotelplan Group’s popular brands and we’re looking forward to the opportunity it presents."