Dertour's swoop for four of Hotelplan Group's five business units was signed off by Switzerland's competition authorities earlier this week and confirmed by the German outfit on Friday (29 August).
These include Hotelplan's travel retail and tour operator businesses in Switzerland, Germany and the UK, where it operates the Inghams, Explore Worldwide, Inntravel and Santa's Lapland brands. All four will continue working with agents as they do currently through the same teams and channels.
The additions will grow Dertour UK's portfolio to 11, with its new acquisitions sitting alongside Kuoni, Carrier, Jules Verne, Kirker Holidays, Journey Latin America, CV Villas and Solmar Villas.
Dertour said all 11 "complementary" brands would remain and will be "further developed". Separately, Hotelplan's holiday home specialist, Interhome, is being taken over by HomeToGo Group.
However, as Hotelplan Group's management transitions to Dertour's organisational structure, Hotelplan UK chief executive and Hotelplan Group executive board member Ponte will leave the business at the end of September.
“I will be leaving my position incredibly proud of everything our teams have achieved," said Ponte, who became managing director of Explore in June 2018 before going on to head up Hotelplan UK as chief executive in November 2020.
"Driven by passion, we’ve transformed our businesses to focus equally on planet, people and profit, constantly striving for excellence for our customers. I am confident Dertour will be a strong, supportive home for our brands."
Dertour UK chief executive Francis Torrilla will assume responsibility for all four Hotelplan UK brands (Credit: Dertour Group)
Francis Torrilla, chief executive of Dertour UK, will lead the newly expanded group in the UK market. He confirmed to TTG it would be business as usual for the trade, with all four Hotelplan UK brands "continuing to work together directly with agents as they do now".
“There is a very good fit between the businesses," he continued. "We are a diverse, purpose-led group with a strong focus on respect for our environment [by] lightening our footprint on the destinations we send customers to and operating business in a sustainable way.
"Our workplace culture is a positive one, we are based on values of respect, support and personal development and we want to welcome all the new colleagues into the group."
Christoph Debus, chief executive of Dertour Group, said the group had a "clear vision for further profitable growth" and would look to inspire customers "with an even wider choice and range of offers".
He added: "We express our sincere appreciation to the Hotelplan Group’s entire leadership team for their exceptional dedication over recent months. They have demonstrated unwavering commitment to both the organisation and its employees, steering the company successfully through a challenging period in its history.
"We would also like to thank Joe as he hands over the leadership of some exceptional brands that we are excited to bring into the Dertour UK portfolio. We wish him every success in his future career."
