Audley Travel

Audley Travel Group Limited
Formerly
 Asian Journeys
Private
Industry Tour Operator Activities
Founded April 25, 1996 (1996-04-25) in Northampton, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Founder
  • Craig Burkinshaw
  • John Brewer
Headquarters New Mill, New Mill Lane, Witney, United Kingdom
Number of locations
 3 (2017)
Area served
Key people
  • Ian Simkins (CEO)
  • Nils Olin Steinmeyer (Director)
  • Mark Christopher Hanson (Director)
  • Richard John Prosser (Director)
  • Elizabeth Ann Ward (Company Secretary)
[1]
Total assets 55,112,000 (2015)
Owner 3i Group Ltd
Number of employees
 380 (2015)
Website audleytravel.com

Audley Travel is a travel company based in the UK based in Witney, Oxfordshire, with offices in London and Boston. The company specialises in tailor-made travel, according to the Financial Times it is the largest operator in this market.[2]

History

The company was founded in a Northampton Post Office in 1996 by Craig Burkinshaw and John Brewer, both graduates of the London School of Economics. The pair originally offered tours of Vietnam, advertising in The Sunday Times.[3][4] In 2006 the company moved to their current headquarters at New Mill in Witney, Oxfordshire, and tourism executive Ian Simkins joined the company as CEO in 2011. In 2014 the company opened an office in London and a US office in Boston, Mass after it discovered 20% of its web traffic was coming from the United States. It arranges holidays in 83 countries, with South East Asia (especially India), Africa, Latin America and the US its main destinations.[3]

In 2012, equity firm Equistone Partners Europe invested a majority stake in Audley Travel during a management buyout.[5] Equistone exited its investment in 2015, selling its share of the company to a private equity firm 3i Group plc.[6]

Awards

Audley Travel has been recognised for numerous achievements as a company. The company has won awards including:

  • Guardian/Observer Travel Awards 2006 - Best Tour Operator: Mainstream [7]
  • The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For 2006-2017[8]
  • Telegraph Green Travel Awards 2007: Luxury Tour Operator of the year[9]
  • Guardian/Observer Travel Awards 2008 - Best Tour Operator: Small [10]
  • Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards - 1st Place Specialist Tour Operator 2010[11]
  • Wanderlust Travel Awards 2011: Best Website[12]
  • Wanderlust Travel Awards 2012: Top Tour Operator[13]
  • Telegraph Travel Awards 2013: Best Tour Operator[14]
  • Guardian/Observer Travel Awards 2014 - Best Tour Operator: Small [15]
  • The Oxfordshire Business Awards 2014: Employer of the Year[16]
  • Audley Travel The Times and Sunday Times Travel Awards 2016: Best luxury tour operator[17]
  • Telegraph Travel Awards 2016: Best Tour Operator[18]
  • Which? Recommended Travel Agents [19]

References

  1. ↑ AUDLEY TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED Company number 03190720 Companies House
  2. ↑ Blackden, Richard (21 Dec, 2015). 3i bets on high-end tourism with Audley Travel The Financial Times.
  3. 1 2 Holgate, Ben (9 October 2014). Witney travel company becomes a global holidays specialist The Herald Series
  4. ↑ (Oct 3, 2013). Audley Travel: Craig Burkinshaw Startups.co.uk
  5. ↑ "Equistone buys stake in Audley Travel". Travel Weekly.
  6. ↑ Ratcliffe, Madeline (21 December 2015). "3i hopes Audley Travel will take off with £159m investment". CityAM.
  7. ↑ (7 October 2006). Travel Awards 2006 winners
  8. ↑ Company Profile - Audley Travel Best Companies
  9. ↑ Starmer-Smith, Guy (12 Jan 2008). Green travel: the winners and losers
  10. ↑ (12 October 2008). Travel Awards 2008 winners
  11. ↑ READERS’ TRAVEL AWARDS 2010- TRAVEL COMPANIES: SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATORS Conde Nast Traveller
  12. ↑ Wanderlust Travel Awards 2011: WINNERS ANNOUNCED Wanderlust Magazine
  13. ↑ Wanderlust Travel Awards 2012: WINNERS ANNOUNCED Wanderlust Magazine
  14. ↑ (27 November 2013). Telegraph Travel Awards 2013: The winners in full The Daily Telegraph
  15. ↑ (22 November 2014). Travel Awards 2014 winners
  16. ↑ Quail, Alex (26 June 2014).Oxfordshire Business Awards 2014 zestdigital.com
  17. ↑ (17 September 2016) The Times and Sunday Times Travel Awards 2016 The Times
  18. ↑ (12 April 2016). Telegraph Travel Awards: your favourite airlines, hotel groups, tour operators and destinations [The Telegraph]
  19. ↑ (2016) The best and worst travel agents Which?
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