Gray Dawes Group has acquired Verve Travel and Leisure in Australia as part of its global expansion.

The deal includes both the business travel division, Verve Travel Management, and the leisure retail office of Bay Travel and Cruise, which Verve acquired in February 2023.

Verve is a family-owned business with offices in Melbourne and Brisbane and is managed by Kathryn and Kurt Sari.

It has a turnover of a AUD$35 million and has a strategic alliance with the ASX listed company, Helloworld Travel. Kathryn Sari has been a member of the Helloworld Business Travel Council since 2018.

The acquisition of Verve takes Graw Dawes’ turnover to over of £600m and pushes employee numbers to over 550.

Suzanne Horner, Gray Dawes Group CEO, said: “I have long admired the business that Kathryn and Kurt Sari, and their team, have built. This latest chapter in our development – Gray Dawes’ sixteenth acquisition to date – marks such an exciting time for us and our clients.

“Our clients increasingly want global solutions, even the smaller ones. They’re taking us on the journey. We’ve been very successful picking up businesses in the UK, Australia, the USA and Europe and integrating them. We know how to do that well. Now, we’re excited to incorporate Verve Travel into our group.”

She said the challenges the industry has faced over the past few years are firmly behind the group, with its revenue now exceeding all pre-pandemic levels and continuing to break profitability records.

“Welcoming Verve Travel into the Group only strengthens our position and global offering, both to corporate and luxury leisure markets. Verve Travel is renowned in Australia for their loyal and outstanding staff. I am delighted to welcome them to the Gray Dawes Group,” Horner added.

Joint Verve Travel Managing Director, Kurt Sari, said: “There are so many synergies across the businesses which makes this a very natural fit. By being part of the Gray Dawes Group, we will be even stronger and able to deliver enhanced global opportunities to our staff and clients alike.”

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