Substantial investment into Staffordshire based luxury online travel agency
High-end online travel agency, Luxury Cottages, is set to create a significant number of new jobs after securing a substantial investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) West Midlands Equity Fund, managed by Midven, part of the Future Planet Capital Group.
The investment will help increase Luxury Cottages’ portfolio to more than 1,200 properties across the UK and create up to 25 new jobs, including 12 in owner and guest services, nine in property management, as well as web developer, finance and admin roles.
Luxury Cottages was launched in 2020 to provide a service to match discerning guests with the highest quality luxury stays in the most sought-after locations across the UK.
Using curated properties which are personally inspected by the team at Luxury Cottages, the company is able to match requirements of both guests and hosts by consistently providing reliable, high-quality holiday rentals. The company is making access to state-of-the-art holiday homes easy for everyone, catering for large groups, couples, and families. Each holiday home is personally picked by the team to provide an unrivalled offering.
Midven decided to invest in Luxury Cottages, who are based in Staffordshire, because of the potential in this exclusive niche of the travel sector. Michelle and Alistair have a wealth of knowledge in luxury travel and bring with them an experienced leadership team.
Giovanni Finocchio, investment director at Midven, said, “There are large segments of consumers who have the disposable income to take multiple holidays with many of them prepared to pay for a premium/luxury offering and service. With this trend comes a significant opportunity for Luxury Cottages to build its brand and grow its revenue, particularly after consumers have sampled staycations over the last 18 months because of Covid restrictions, and now have a flavour for better quality/luxury accommodation. This management team have many years’ experience within this market, and I believe they have the skills to grow this business into a significant organisation that will attract acquirers.”
Alistair Malins, CEO and founder at Luxury Cottages, said, “We’re an ambitious company keen on growth and this investment enables us to expand our operations into new areas including the Cotswolds, Yorkshire, Wales, Devon, and Cornwall. We’re all about providing holiday homes that create mouth-wide-open reactions when people open the door. The next step is to grow our team so we can continue our stellar records of personalised customer and owner service that we have built the company on.”
Grant Peggie, director at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF continues to help businesses innovative and grow, this latest investment is supporting new jobs in Staffordshire and allowing the business to expand its offering and we’d encourage other businesses in the Midlands to consider the finance options available through the MEIF.”
Alun Rogers, chair of Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire LEP, said, “It is great to see Luxury Cottages receive this investment, which will help the local business to expand and capitalise on prime opportunities in other geographies. Luxury Cottages is a great example of a local business that has innovated in response to the impact of the pandemic, identifying an opportunity for growth. We’re proud to be working in partnership with Midlands Engine Investment Fund and supporting Luxury Cottages to take their business to the next level, making a positive contribution to the local economy and creating jobs.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
