Tour operator Nicolaus Nicolaus wins Valtur

Valtur returns to Ostuni, where the brand's first village had opened its doors in the '60s. Was the Nicolaus-based specialist tour operator, based in Ostuni, Puglia, to win the call for 39 offers for the acquisition of the brand, organized by the judicial commissioner who manages the bankruptcy of the Milanese company already controlled by Investindustrial.

"operation that affects the 5 million

We participated in winning, says Giuseppe Pagliara, CEO of Rg Holding, Group that controls Nicolaus. This is not a coincidence if the tour operator 's offer tripled the base of the 1.5 million euros auction and was worth one and a half times that of the second highest bidder, the tour operator Bluserena, who had bet over 3 million euros on "operation. In short, Nicolaus has won the historic brand, with around 4 and a half million euros. For us, it is a strategic acquisition, an attack on the market – he continues -. For many competitors, like Alpitour, it was a defensive operation. The Pagliara brothers, founders of Nicolaus, celebrate with the 100 employees of the group a success that will lead us, next year, to support two brands: an economically strong like Nicolaus and a recognized historian like Valtur. That will have two different souls, on which the buyers do not disbademble anymore.

The buyer

Nicolaus currently sells 30 exclusive structures (24 in Italy, five in Greece and one in Spain), giving work to 120 people. The group ended the year 2017 with a turnover of 80 million euros, up 20% from 2016 and a 5.5% ebitda. The acquisition of the Valtur brand – concludes Pagliara – is perfectly functional for the realization of the development options envisaged in the industrial plan, which forecasts for the next 3-5 years a constant double-digit growth, in the respect of 39, an economic and financial balance.