Leo Trippi AG, a multi award-winning Swiss travel agency specialising in luxury chalet and villa rentals, has today announced the acquisition of UK-based luxury accommodation specialist Alpine Guru Ltd for an undisclosed fee.

The deal sees the two brands of Alpine Guru Ltd, Villa Guru and Alpine Guru, join Leo Trippi to create a specialist group of travel companies with a worldwide portfolio of more than 2,000 luxury summer and winter vacation properties.

Following the acquisition, both the Villa Guru and Alpine Guru brands will continue to operate as part of the Leo Trippi Group and Alpine Guru Ltd founders Oliver Corkhill and Anthony Cullen will be joining Leo Trippi as shareholders and directors. They will also join Leo Trippi's newly formed leadership team, working across the group's three brands.

The acquisition is a key milestone in Leo Trippi's growth strategy, having actively explored means of gaining greater market share in its core ski market and strengthening its senior management team through acquisition over the past 12 months. This follows Leo Trippi's acquisition of First Class Holidays in 2014 which bolstered its market share within the luxury villa rental market. 

All staff of Alpine Guru Ltd and Leo Trippi have been retained and Alpine Guru and Villa Guru will continue to run from their existing office in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The Leo Trippi Group headquarters will remain in Switzerland, with representative offices in the exclusive ski resorts of St Moritz, Verbier and Zermatt, as well as a support office in South Africa.

Auret van Zyl, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Leo Trippi Group, commented on the acquisition:

“Alpine Guru Ltd is an ideal fit for Leo Trippi. Over the last few years, Alpine Guru Ltd has established a stronghold in the UK's luxury chalet and villa rental market, enjoying significant growth year-on-year since launching in the UK market in 2011. With two strong brands, Alpine Guru and Villa Guru, and an impressive complementary portfolio of luxury properties worldwide, Alpine Guru Ltd offered us a unique opportunity to invest into the UK market and strengthen our positions within both the ski and villa rental markets - something we're delighted about. In terms of future plans, we plan to integrate the businesses and use this as a springboard for organic and inorganic growth, continuing to develop our positions as market leaders for chalet and villa rentals globally.”

Oliver Corkhill, Co-Founder and Director of Alpine Guru Ltd, also said the following:

“Myself and business partner Anthony Cullen started Alpine Guru 5 years ago now and are immensely proud of the successes we've achieved with both the Alpine Guru and Villa Guru brands to date; building them both into what we deem to be formidable forces within the luxury chalet and villa holiday rental space. The synergy between Leo Trippi and Alpine Guru Ltd was inarguable and the joining of forces simply made perfect sense. Joining Leo Trippi is an incredibly exciting step towards our next phase of growth, working together to consolidate our position in the market as well as continuing to expand our portfolio of over 700 properties worldwide. Being part of the Leo Trippi Group leadership team will allow us the opportunity and resources to strategically grow each of the brands – the future is looking very bright.”

ENDS

For further information please visit: www.leotrippi.com / www.alpineguru.com / www.villaguru.com 

Editor's Notes

About Leo Trippi AG

Leo Trippi AG is a leading European chalet and villa rental agency based in Switzerland, with representative offices in key destinations across Europe, including the exclusive ski resorts of St Moritz, Verbier and Zermatt. Leo Trippi has over 1,400 winter and summer luxury private rental properties in over 100 destinations worldwide under the Leo Trippi brand. The company has a multi-lingual sales team based across Europe, supported by a growing support team based South Africa. Leo Trippi was founded by Florian Steiger, Oliver Stastny and Auret van Zyl with a story dating back to 1882. In 2014 and 2015, Leo Trippi AG was voted the “World's Best Ski Travel Agent” in the World Ski Awards, and has been nominated for the accolade for 2016's awards.

For more information, visit www.leotrippi.com 

About Alpine Guru Ltd

Alpine Guru Ltd is the challenger brand of the luxury chalet and villa rental industry. A specialist travel company operating two brands – Alpine Guru and Villa Guru- the business was founded in 2011 by Oliver Corkhill and Anthony Cullen and has over 700 rental properties in 60 destinations worldwide. Alpine Guru has been nominated for best specialist travel agent in The Telegraph World Snow Awards 2016 and was the runner up in 2015.

For more information, visit www.alpineguru.com  / www.villaguru.com 

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