Ropes & Gray has advised Silverfleet Capital, the Pan-European private equity firm that specialises in buy-to-build, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Riviera Travel, a leading specialist holiday operator offering a global portfolio of escorted tours and cruises.

Founded in 1984 and based in Burton-on-Trent in the UK, Riviera is a leading operator of escorted tours with a focus on the over 55s market. The company provides European tour holidays, river and ocean cruises, city breaks, and long-haul tours with varied itineraries combining leisure with education and entertainment. Riviera continues to diversify its range of holidays and currently offers tours and cruises to 50 countries, attracting over 118,000 customers per year.

The deal is expected to complete shortly and the terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The London-based Ropes & Gray team was led by private equity partners Phil Sanderson and John Newton and finance partner Malcolm Hitching, assisted by private equity associates Electra Callan and Tarun Patel and finance associate Nick Cusack.

Commenting on the outlook for the private equity market in 2018, Phil Sanderson, private equity partner at Ropes & Gray, said:

“Funds are still being raised into an already saturated market. The market needs more good opportunities and sellers will still be in charge as a result. What is more, sellers will be able to sell a more credible story of sustained growth post downturn than in the recent past.  Sellers will also want to get into the market in H1 before any certainty starts to form around Brexit. So the first half of 2018 is likely to be very strong; the second half is less clear.”

“The businesses that will continue to attract most interest in the UK will be platform businesses with scope for international expansion – all the more so given the currency fluctuation uncertainties and the desire to hedge. The consumer sector will remain weak – with the exception of resilient brands or those with market positioning that offer embedded or growth value - but I expect to see continued activity in the tech and healthcare sectors, especially devices / software.”