Guerba World Travel

Meridian Corporate Finance LLP ("Meridian") advised the shareholders on the disposal of Guerba World Travel Ltd ("GWT") and subsidiaries to the Australian company, Intrepid Travel Pty Ltd ("ITL"), for an undisclosed consideration.

Established in 1997, GWT is one of the UK's leading independently owned adventure tour operators. Originally offering trans Africa expeditions to small groups, the business has grown to provide tours to over 4,000 passengers per year to destinations from Africa to Antarctica.

ITL was founded by Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester in 1989 with an ambition to get travellers off the beaten track in Asia. Today Intrepid has nearly 100 staff, over 300 different trips, over 50 different destinations and many different styles of travel, yet their philosophy on travel remains unchanged.

GWT founder Martin Crabb will continue in the role of Managing Director assuming responsibility for ITL's UK operations. Legal advice was provided by Lester Aldridge, where Michael Doyle oversaw the team.

Commenting on the transaction Martin said "The synergies for both Guerba and Intrepid made this deal a natural one. For Guerba it will unlock the future and all staff positions will be maintained. I would like to thank Meridian Corporate Finance, for all their hard work in reducing the burden of the sale process and guiding us so well through it".

Michael Barcia of Meridian commented "As one of the largest remaining independently owned operators there was always going to be huge interest in the sale of GWT. It was a pleasure to work with such an interesting business and to achieve a successful outcome to the transaction".