Tourism Holdings sells UK and Ireland business
Monday, 16 February 2026
Campervan giant Tourism Holdings is selling its UK division to a Portuguese campervan company for millions of dollars, in the wake of some tough financial times.
The move was signposted as likely in August after the NZX-listed company reported a net loss of $25.8m after tax over the year to June 30, a big drop from its $39.4m profit for the previous financial year.
At the time, the company said it was undertaking strategic reviews of its underperforming divisions including North America, UK and Ireland, and Australian retail sales and Australian manufacturing.
Now, it has confirmed it has entered into a conditional agreement to sell its UK and Ireland division for NZ$8 million, in an announcement on the NZX on Monday.
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The buyer is Indie Campers, a Lisbon- based campervan rental company and road-trip marketplace which operates across Europe, North America, and Oceania.
The sale was expected to generate a one-off gain of up to NZ$6.8m, representing goodwill net of certain committed costs, including transaction costs, it said.
The company expected to use the sale proceeds for the repayment of debt.
Tourism Holdings chief executive Grant Webster, said the sale of the division was an example of the company’s commitment to disciplined capital management.
“While we continue to believe in the long-term potential of the business, the market has not delivered the scale required to achieve our original aspirations, and the division has underperformed in recent years.”
But the sale was conditional on the landlords of the depots consenting to the assignment of leases, although under the lease terms they could not be unreasonably withheld.
Tourism Holdings would also underwrite a 15% vehicle sales margin on the future resale of the fleet sold to Indie Campers over a three-year period, with the total underwrite capped at the goodwill value.
In contrast, the company achieved an average retail vehicle sales margin of 22% in the first half of the 2026 financial year.
There will also be a three-year restraint of trade preventing Tourism Holdings from competing with the business in the UK and Ireland markets.
Tourism Holdings also acknowledged that due to the timing of the sale the transaction would negatively impact underlying pre-tax earnings by NZ$1.1m in the second half of the 2026 financial year.
That would reflect the loss of the UK division’s high-season earnings over the final quarter of the year, it said.
The sale is expected to be completed in the final quarter of 2026.
Indie Campers chief executive Hugo Oliveria said he was excited to welcome Tourism Holdings’ UK operations into the Indie Campers group, and to continue to build on the strong brands and foundation that the company has developed over the years.
But Tourism Holdings is likely to announce more sales in future.
In September it announced it planned to sell its standalone Sydney RV Super Centre and Kratzmann RV Super Centre dealerships, located in Sydney and Brisbane, to reduce overheads and limit exposure to the broader campervan sales market.
Tourism Holdings became the world’s largest commercial campervan rental operator in 2022 after acquiring its largest rival Australia’s Apollo Tourism & Leisure.
In New Zealand and Australia it owns the Maui, Britz, Apollo, Mighty, Hippie, and Cheapa Campa rental brands, and it also owns rental brands in North America.
It is involved in manufacturing and travel technology, and operates several tourism businesses in New Zealand, including Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Kiwi Experience.
The company has had to navigate challenging conditions in recent years, with vehicle sales down, US President Donald Trump’s tariffs causing problems, and a decline in US tourism.