our history
Travcorp Holdings Ltd brings together a rich heritage of specialist travel brands, each with decades of experience in their markets. From iconic Italian journeys to long-haul adventures and sun-soaked beach escapes, our story is one of strategic growth, deep destination knowledge, and an unwavering focus on customer experience.
2006
2006
Holiday Gems Ltd incorporated in Stockport by Jason Edwards
Launch of HolidayGems.co.uk, a short-haul value specialist B2C tour operator, focused on affordable, dynamically packaged holidays
2014
2014
Continued expansion of the business leads to the purchase of the companies head office property in Chester
2016
2016
Following a successful test period trading as Holiday Gems Ltd, Destination2 is incorporated. Affordable Luxury Long-haul B2C tour operator specialising in the UAE region, Far East, Indian Ocean and the Caribbean
The Holding Company, Travcorp Holdings Ltd is incorporated
2017
2017
Dual-brand scale achieved. Holiday Gems and Destination2 gain strong market presence and supplier leverage Group Financial Milestone of £43M turnover achieved
July 2017
Tony Carty invests in Travcorp Holdings and joins the business
2018
January 2018
Andrew Botterill invest in Travcorp Holdings and joins the business.
The company acquires it’s second building in Chester which forms part of the groups Head Office
Strategic focus sharpens on commercial control, differentiated specialist product, and technology enablement
2018
March 2018
Matt Appleby joins as Product Director
Mark Lawton joins as Group CFO
2019
2019
Group Financial Milestone of £82M turnover achieved
2021
2021
Destination2Cruise launched. Cruise & stay specialist, targeting high-margin twin and multi-centre cruise holidays
BGF invested alongside existing shareholders to provide growth capital, enabling the business to pursue strategic M&A and scale its specialist positioning across the travel sector.
2022
2022
february 2022
Dom Leeson joins as IT Director.
Commencement of large-scale tech transformation to unify customer and booking data.
Group Financial Milestone of £119M turnover achieved
2025
January 2025
Andy Freeth joins as Group Managing Director. Focus on growth roadmap to include specialist acquisitions
2025
February 2025
Specialist Holiday Group (SHG) acquisition from Travelopia Holdings Ltd
In February 2025 we began discussions and formally engaged advisors to explore the acquisition of Specialist Holiday Group (SHG).
Citalia – Italian travel specialist
Sovereign Luxury Travel – luxury beach holiday specialist
American Holidays – North America and theme park specialist (Republic of Ireland)
2025
July 2025
SHG acquisition completed
Andy Freeth appointed to Group CEO
Helen Adamson joins Travcorp Holdings Board as SHG Managing Director