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Isis Equity Partners has sold On the Beach for £73m (€86.3m) to Inflexion Private Equity who will be backing the existing management team led by founder and Chief Executive, Simon Cooper.

Based in Cheadle, On the Beach carries more than 900,000 passengers each year and has grown rapidly on the back of significant investment in technology, content and marketing.

Over the last 6 years On the Beach has grown its sales from £78m to £280m and EBITDA has risen fourfold to over £11m in 2013.

This success has been achieved against the backdrop of economic recession and exceptional travel disruptions such as the 2010 ash cloud and Arab Spring.

The UK travel market is currently going through a structural channel shift, away from high street travel agents towards online players like On the Beach. Online bookings now account for around 45% of the total packaged beach holiday market in the UK, and this segment is set to grow at around 10% per annum over the coming years.

Simon Cooper said:

“This is fantastic news for our business and we are delighted that Inflexion is investing in the next stage of growth for On the Beach.  With their proven track record of working with businesses to grow both domestically and internationally, as well as their experience in the online retail sector, we feel they are the right partner for our business and we look forward to working together."

Liberty were appointed to provide management advice to Simon Cooper and the management team on the transaction.