Cottages.com owner Awaze tipped for £2bn sale or public listing

Reports claim one of the UK’s biggest holiday companies has brought in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to conduct a strategic review

Hoseasons owner Awaze has reportedly hired banks to oversee a sale that could value the European holiday rentals firm at up to £2 billion.

US-based private equity firm Platinum Equity, which bought Awaze in 2018, is reported by Sky News to have appointed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to oversee a strategic review.

A sale or public listing of the business would see one of Britain’s biggest holiday providers changing hands for the second time in five years.

Sky News cited City sources as saying that Goldman and Morgan Stanley were likely to launch a sale process for Awaze in the next 12 months.

Awaze handles eight million holidaymakers each year across 36 countries.

Its Hoseasons subsidiary offers 23,000 holiday locations.

The company was rebranded after being bought by Platinum from Wyndham Worldwide for $1.3 billion.

A spokesperson for Platinum declined to comment to the broadcaster on the appointment of advisers at Awaze.