Flagship Group Makes First Three Acquisitions For Roll-Up

Private equity-backed Flagship Group has initiated an ambitious consolidation strategy in the highly fragmented tours and experiences market by announcing its first three acquisitions: day-tour and excursion provider Amigo Tours, food and culture operator WalksDevour, and cultural and archaeological specialist Askos Tours. This initial trio of deals immediately establishes the group's geographical presence across North America, Europe, and Japan.

The concept for this roll-up strategy originated with Charaf El Mansouri, managing partner at Flagship Group and founder of Dharma—the company behind the official Emily in Paris tours in Paris and Rome. During his previous operations, El Mansouri compiled a list of local operators he could partner with, discovering a vast pool of 120 potential operators instead of the expected six to eight.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

“I think essentially that was the thread that led us to where we are today. It’s a massive space, it’s a growing space but hyper fragmented, which in the end is not in the interest of operators, distributors, or guests, and so the idea was ‘hey is there an opportunity here”