Small-group adventure tour operator G Adventures says it has secured growth capital funds from a New York-based investment management firm to position it for “accelerated growth” after the pandemic, with G founder Bruce Poon assuring Travel Industry Today that the company is not in distress due to the world health crisis.
“Like every company we certainly had our own set of challenges (due to COVID-19) but there was no time that we felt we were in financial trouble,” Poon Tip told us.
He added: “As the pandemic escalated, we could not anticipate the length it would go for, but we secured working capital through the Canadian government sometime ago should we exceed our own cash reserves.”
While G would not reveal the amount of the investment from Certares, Poon Tip – who founded the company in a small office on Dupont Street in Toronto in 1990 – remains the controlling shareholder.
“Our partnership with Certares is very exciting for us because it gives us the growth capital we need to continue to be aggressive, as we have been for 31 years, and to create something special at G Adventures. It’s a very exciting moment for us,” he said.
From its early days in Toronto, G Adventures has grown into a global tour operator offering more than 1,000 tours in 100 countries on all seven continents and Poon Tip has become a noted social entrepreneur and author. In 2017, G Adventures acquired UK-based travel brands Travelsphere and Just You, and in 2018 TruTravels joined the group. The brand also boasts partnerships with National Geographic and the Jane Goodall Institute. The company hosted more than 250,000 travellers in 2019.
Poon Tip says the investment enables the company to accelerate its pursuit of merger and acquisition opportunities, investments, and shared services platform upgrades.
“Our mission at G Adventures has always been to use travel as a vehicle to change people’s lives,” he added in a statement. “I’m extremely excited that our partners at Certares share our vision and believe in us to identify and realize incredible opportunities for our people, our business, and our industry – they truly understand our company and are experts in the travel space. I have always said tourism can be the biggest form of wealth distribution the world has ever seen, and this investment means we can do even more to build back travel the right way.”
Certares managing director Anup Mantena said, “G Adventures is a great fit for Certares. We are excited to leverage our extensive industry resources to help the company continue to grow.”