Travel Chapter

Background

Travel Chapter is an online vacation rental platform that connects holiday property owners across the UK with vacationers seeking a quality getaway. They specialise in providing personally inspected properties for self-catering holidays. The platform enables property owners to rent out their private residences as vacation homes, reaching unique markets and diverse audiences.

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) is a global, mid-market, private equity firm based in London, UK. Founded in 1988, their portfolio is well diversified and weighted towards sectors with defensive growth characteristics; Technology (22.5%), Healthcare (13.3%), Business Services (12.6%) and Education (7.0%) make up 55.4% of the Portfolio.

In the first quarter of 2022, ICG acquired Travel Chapter. Soon after, Travel Chapter acquired Original Cottages, solidifying their position as one of the major players in the UK lettings agency market.

The process

DRAX were initially introduced to Travel Chapter through corporate advisers from ICG to assist in employing a performance-focused Chief Marketing Officer into Travel Chapter to lead the business and help spearhead the marketing function post-acquisition of Original Cottages.

The Chief Marketing Officer's responsibilities would include boosting profitability through successful marketing strategies, managing digital media, SEO, eCommerce, customer marketing, and brand management.

After successfully receiving the mandate, DRAX's Consumer team visited Travel Chapter's Devon headquarters to meet with Jayne McClure (Chief Executive Officer) and the wider executive team to dive deeper into how the Chief Marketing Officer will contribute to the business's value creation strategy. It was crucial for DRAX to spend the day with the team to truly immerse themselves in the business and understand the company’s culture and values. To further confirm the required complementary fit for Travel Chapter, part of our search process involved all shortlisted candidates and Travel Chapter’s executive team completing PACE, our bespoke private equity-specific behavioural analytics tool. The insights from PACE provided an objective view of candidates’ behaviours to support the hiring process and ensure a strong fit with the incumbent leadership team.

Following a comprehensive search, DRAX successfully introduced Travel Chapter to a data-driven candidate with expertise in digital and performance marketing, having worked in digitally focused businesses that prioritise customer acquisition.

Feeling like there's a missing piece in engaging your consumer talent? Reach out to Max Staley directly at max.staley@draxexecutive.com to discover how DRAX can help you bridge the gaps in your leadership team and unlock the full potential of your consumer talent.