Looking back, Wilson says: “We had to develop the approach and convince our stakeholders it was the right way forwards. Through our fact-based approach and careful and constructive negotiation, we were able to implement a comprehensive and holistic solution where everybody who had risk on the table joined in.”
It’s a sentiment that was echoed by Catherine Richards, a partner at Inflexion (private equity investor in Scott Dunn), in a message sent to EY in July 2020: “If we had been told in March that we could secure the deal we have today, we would have snapped your hand off in a heartbeat. EY has been excellent throughout and the entire board is incredibly thankful.”
The ultimate proof of success is that Scott Dunn has continued trading throughout the pandemic, and as restrictions ease the company is seeing strong demand from its customers to travel internationally once more. Not that Davies is assuming that it’s back to business as usual.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the end of the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry,” she warns. “It has touched every single part of the travel and hospitality supply chain, from tour operators and travel agents like Scott Dunn, to airlines, hoteliers, restauranteurs, guides, even people who make jewelry in destinations and sell them to tourists.”
There are a number of other challenges ahead for the travel sector, including changes to Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) regulations (which protect consumers in the event of a travel company failing), the consequences of Brexit, commitments to more sustainable travel and various ongoing government airline reviews, together with evolving operating models in response to changing customer preferences.
Nevertheless, Davies is optimistic. “I think we’ll see some short-term headwinds and some long-term systemic changes, but also opportunities,” she says. “The industry is resilient and the demand for leisure travel is always there – and perhaps now more than ever.”