DLA Piper advises Duke Street on sale of Great Rail Journeys Ltd.

DLA Piper has advised Duke Street on the sale of Great Rail Journeys Ltd (GRJ) to Vitruvian Partners.

GRJ was founded in York, England in 1973 as a family-run business focused on rail tours for British travellers in the UK and around Europe. Since 2018, Duke Street has invested significantly to provide a platform for the business to scale globally and it now offers a portfolio of tours with about 400 itineraries to over 40 countries around the world.

Vitruvian Partners is a global investor in the travel and travel tech sector. Through its support, the management team of GRJ will continue their growth trajectory, with a particular focus on the UK, US and other source markets.

The transaction was led by Corporate partners Stephen Atkinson, Richard McGlasham and Duke Street client relationship partner Tim Wright, supported by Senior Associates Ben Collins and Emily Scrowston.

Jason Lawford, partner at Duke Street, commented: "DLA Piper has been a longstanding adviser to Duke Street and demonstrated its strength in depth across the UK and USA to deliver the transaction. We look forward to working together again in the future".

DLA Piper Corporate partner, Tim Wright, commented: "It has been a pleasure working alongside the Duke Street and Great Rail Journeys teams and it is great to see the business being passed on to Vitruvian who I'm sure will do an excellent job in supporting the management in the next phase of its development."