Voyager Travel snapped up by UK giant ATPI after 40 years in business

Voyager Travel Corporation has been acquired by UK-based travel industry giant ATPI, for an undisclosed sum.

The independent Australian business, which has been operating for over 40 years, has offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth and provides travel booking services for corporate businesses.

ATPI has offices in around 60 countries and the acquisition of Voyager Travel is designed to cement its footprint in the Asia Pacific region.

ATPI chief executive and chairman Graham Ramsay said ATPI approached Voyager after an extensive search for a business to buy in the region.

“I am delighted to have completed the acquisition of this prestigious Australian company,” he said.

“It is an important milestone in achieving our international expansion strategy. I am also extremely pleased that Richard Savva, managing director of Voyager Travel Corporation, will remain in his role and welcome him as a shareholder in ATPI.”

The outgoing chairman of Voyager, Lionel Krongold, said the approach by ATPI came “out of the blue in the year that we celebrated 40 years in the corporate travel industry”.

Krongold told SmartCompany this morning the move will take Voyager into the “global arena”, providing clients with greater access to airline deals, events and car hire deals than previously available.

He said after 23 years of ownership by The Krongold Group, it was the right time to see the business take the next step.

He declined to reveal the sum paid by ATPI, but confirmed the figure was “beneficial to both”.

Krongold said all Australian staff would be retained and the business name will remain.

He will no longer remain with Voyager Travel, and said it gave him a sense of “happiness” to see it thrive, but also “reservation about leaving a great team of people”.

Travel technology business iVoyager, which provides IT systems for Voyager Travel, will continue to be owned and operated by The Krongold Group. Voyager Travel will continue to have exclusive access to the iVoyager technology for the Australian market.

Voyager Travel Corporation reports that its client base includes corporations such as Pacific Brands, Coles, Telstra, Monash University and Harvey Norman.

Established in 1973, it has around 115 staff, and also provides its services to 40 countries through an affiliation with travel management organisation GSM.

ATPI was formed in 2006 following a management buyout of two companies in the UK and Netherlands. In 2009, the group acquired Instone International and now has over 1500 staff globally.