Ian Burnley, the CEO of hotel booking agency Expotel, has led a buyout of the company and an acquisition, both backed by UK equity investor Phoenix Equity Partners.
NIS Europe, another HBA, is now part of the enlarged Expotel company.
The moves have triggered the retirement of Expotel chairman Maurice Segal and two others, and the arrival of Richard Lovell as chairman. Lovell recently retired from CWT where he was President EMEA and Latin America.
Aside from the changes at the top, everything else stays the same, including the name of the company, explained a company spokesperson.
Expotel now claims it is the clear market leader in the HBA sector and that it will be able to provide customers with a broader range of travel management services. This is in line with Burnley’s strategy to turn the company from an HBA into something more akin to a travel management company.
