Member Article

ATPI Group acquire travel business with help of Manchester's Lloyds bank office

The Manchester branch of Lloyds bank have supported ATPI Group’s acquisition of specialist travel business Griffin Global for an undisclosed amount.

ATPI Group has a Manchester-based office in the Wythenshawe area.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking acted as Agent and mandated lead arranger, as part of a seven bank syndicate to provide senior debt and revolving credit facilities to support the transaction.

The deal represents an uplift in existing debt facilities for the ATPI Group, which is a leading global travel and events business and long-term customer of Lloyds Bank.​

It is the latest step in the group’s growth strategy following the management buy-out by current sponsor Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) in 2012.

Griffin Group is ATPI Group’s second major acquisition in less than 12 months, following the purchase of Australia’s largest independent travel management company, Voyager Travel, in January 2014.

With 51 wholly-owned offices globally, and a further network of over 40 partners, the ATPI Group provides end-to-end tailored travel solutions to medium-sized businesses, with a particular specialism on more complex international and travel-to-work client requirements.

The group reported revenues of more than £720 million in 2013 and, following the acquisition of Griffin Global, the group forecasts gross sales in excess of £1.2 billion for 2014.

Griffin Global was previously backed by Inflexion and is headquartered in London. It operates exclusively in the global energy and marine markets, where it is the primary competitor to the ATPI Group, from 33 locations worldwide.

The acquisition means that the ATPI Group now services over 5,000 clients around the world with a workforce of more than 6,300 people.

Kate Grimoldby, of the bank’s Acquisition Finance team, and Paul Foster, leading the Mid Markets team, provided additional support for the deal.

Chief executive of the ATPI Group, Graham Ramsey said: “With the support of Lloyds Bank, we have delivered another significant milestone for the business with the purchase of Griffin.

“This deal is a major step forward in our plan to increase our global operation, and enhances the unrivalled service that clients of the business already enjoy.”

Director in the acquisition finance team at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, Jimmy Williamson said: “We have built a long-standing relationship with the ATPI Group as its clearing bank, and this acquisition is a major opportunity to bring two complementary businesses with strong management teams together.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .