Cox & Kings divests majority stake in LateRooms and Superbreak
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Cox & Kings Ltd. (‘C&K’) has sold 100 per cent of LateRooms UK Ltd. to Malvern Enterprises UK Ltd. (‘Malvern’) for GBP 20 million. C&K’s 65.58 per cent-owned subsidiary, Holidaybreak Ltd. (‘Holidaybreak’), has sold 100 per cent of its Superbreak business to Malvern in a transaction whereby Holidaybreak received a net cash consideration of GBP 9.25 million. The proceeds were used to pay off debt.
C&K has bought a 49 per cent stake in Malvern for GBP 6.37 million. Malvern is 51 per cent owned by a reputed Europe-based private equity investor.
The transaction will enable Malvern to independently follow its own strategic growth path in the underpenetrated city-breaks market within the online package-tour space. Brands Superbreak and LateRooms are likely to gain substantially from a unified management team under the strategic guidance of the private equity investor and C&K.
C&K’s 49 per cent equity stake in Malvern will be accounted for as an Investment in Associate Company, with its proportionate share of profit/(loss) reflected in C&K’s P&L from FY17 onwards. The goodwill write-off on sale of Superbreak is GBP 71.4 million.