London– Mayer Brown has advised private equity firm Vitruvian Partners on its acquisition of rail specialist tour operator Great Rail Journeys ("GRJ") from Duke Street Capital.
The deal will support GRJ's management team, led by CEO Dave Riley, in their sector leading growth trajectory, with a particular focus on the UK, US and other source markets, building on the company's strong position as a global provider of premium, experience-led travel. It also adds to Vitruvian's travel portfolio, which includes investments in Travel Counsellors, Sykes Cottages and OAG.
GRJ was founded in York in 1973 as a family-run business focused on rail tours for UK travellers in the UK and Europe, and now offers more than 400 itineraries around the world.
Mayer Brown also advised Vitruvian Partners on its portfolio company OAG's acquisition of Infare, a provider of competitor airfare pricing and activity data in Q3 2023.
The Mayer Brown team was led by Private Equity partners James West, Electra Callan and Paul Rosen and included counsel Danny Williams and associates, Joshua Flew, Olivia Woodhead, Priyanka Patel and Toby Boyd, Finance partners Stuart Brinkworth (London) and Jason Friedman and associates Ben Crosby (both New York), Mike Gorski and Boaz Levy (both London), International Trade and Sanctions partner Jason Hungerford, senior associate James Ford and associate Kirsty Morris, Pensions partner Andrew Block and associate Lucy Moore, Environment partner Tim Baines and consultant Michael Hutchinson, Real Estate partner Iain Roberts and associate Julia Wyszomirska, Tax partner James Hill, senior associate Tamar Ruiz (all London) and associate Amit Neuman (New York), Antitrust & Competition partners Mark Hills (London) and Oral Pottinger (Washington DC) and associate Victoire Sineau (London), IP partners Oliver Yaros (London) and Arsen Kourinian (Los Angeles) and senior associate Reece Randall and associate Alasdair Maher (both London), Employment & Benefits partners Stephanie Vasconcellos (Chicago) and Chris Fisher, counsel James Perrott, associates Henry Corrigan, Mark Rose, Ruth Kellard (all London) and Grant Uhler (Chicago), Corporate counsel George Rudy (New York) and Litigation & Dispute Resolution counsel Gina Del Tatto (New York).