Travel management company Chambers Travel Group has announced that it will be acquired by Corporate Travel Management (CTM), effective from 1 January.
The acquisition, reportedly worth up to £39m over a three year period, means Chambers will become the European arm of CTM, giving the Australian firm an immediate presence in seven countries across the continent. The agreement also includes elected share ownership of CTM for Chambers CEO Chris Thelen and the senior management team, all of whom retain their current positions.
Chambers Travel Group will continue to trade under that name for the foreseeable future and all of Chambers’ 214 employees will retain their positions. This includes those who work for Chambers Travel Events, which recently expanded its team to target the pharmaceutical sector.
Mike Leeson, senior events manager at Chambers Travel Events, said: "Chambers Travel Events is incredibly excited by the new opportunities presented to us by becoming a global agency. Day-to-day business for our clients and suppliers will remain unchanged, however we will now benefit from global buying power for all of our events."
Chris Thelen, CEO, Chambers Travel Group, said: "Our aspiration is to grow Chambers into a much larger European business and we believe that by joining forces with CTM and becoming their new European regional headquarters, we will be able to accelerate that aspiration.
"We have worked with CTM on a number of global bids over the last ten years and in that time watched them build an exceptional business based on highly personalised service delivery combined with best-in-class technology to deliver meaningful ROI to clients. There is a huge opportunity to benefit from each other’s strengths, significantly enhancing our service offering to clients, while providing exciting new career opportunities for our employees."
CTM was founded in Brisbane in 1994, has an annual turnover of more than £1bn and now operates in 46 cities across 23 countries worldwide, employing 1,800 staff.
Jamie Pherous, managing director of CTM, said: "We are delighted to have Chambers Travel Group become our anchor point in the UK and Europe to lead our future growth in this region. Chambers is a multi-award winning company with an excellent track record of winning and servicing regional and global clients.
"Chambers Travel Group possesses a capable and passionate management team; the company is a leader in corporate travel in the UK and Europe; and [it] enjoys high client and staff retention."
More:
Chambers Travel Group reports £15.6m rise in event sales
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