KE Adventure Travel, the specialist walking and cycling tour operator based in England’s Lake District, has acquired leisure cycling brands Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel Holidays from Manchester-based international running and cycling tour operator, Sports Tours International.
The addition of these two established brands will greatly enhance KE’s current cycle offering, with their focus on easier European cycling routes. Ashley Toft, CEO of KE Adventure Travel, said: “We are delighted to welcome Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel Holidays to KE and to the wider Voyageurs du Monde group. They are two brands with a loyal customer base and a strong online presence, and we look forward to developing both brands, and accelerating our growth in this buoyant leisure cycling market.”
KE Adventure Travel has purchased both brands from Sports Tours International – the market leader in the mass-participation events sector. Thousands of runners and cyclists travel with Sports Tours to the six Abbott World Marathon Majors and iconic events like the Tour de France every year. The sale of Freewheel and Wheel2Wheel comes as Sports Tours seeks to consolidate its portfolio amid unprecedented growth in the running sector and a record year in 2023-2024.
Tim Przbysz, CEO of Sports Tours International, said: “We are thrilled that Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel have found a new home with KE Adventure Travel, where we are confident the brands will be managed to realise their potential and will allow us to concentrate on our core product offering.”
Additionally, KE have come to an agreement with Active on Holiday BV, a Dutch leisure cycling and walking tour operator (and also a part of the Voyageurs du Monde group), to sell their product offering in the UK and wider English-speaking markets, utilising the Active on Holiday brand. Steven Rittey, who has been establishing and launching Active on Holiday in the UK over the last year, and who was formerly the Product Manager for Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel Holidays at Sports Tours International, has joined KE to manage and develop all three brands.
See more at keadventure.com
Image: Ashley Toft, CEO of KE Adventure Travel and Paul O’Halloran, sales director of Sports Tours International