Bowmark Capital announces £16 million buy-out of STS Travel Group

Founded in 1998, STS specialises in three areas of the school travel market: ski trips, educational tours and adventure and activity trips. The business provides these services to over 55,000 students per year from over 1,000 schools in the UK and is the market leader in the provision of teacher-supervised school ski-trips to Europe and North America.

Bowmark Capital provided £6 million of equity to finance the acquisition of STS, with the balance of funds provided by senior debt from The Royal Bank of Scotland and by vendor financing.

John Bowden, Managing Director of STS said: “We were looking for a supportive investment partner to help develop the business, which I am delighted to say we found in Bowmark Capital."

Kevin Grassby of Bowmark Capital commented: “The growth of STS has been driven by an increasing requirement from teachers to outsource the organisation of school travel to meet tightening regulatory constraints. STS’s experienced management team is now well-positioned to continue this growth, both through organic development and selective bolt-on acquisitions.