Laterooms touted for sale as Tui hires Momondo advisor Arma

Tui has hired the firm that advised Cheapflights parent Momondo Group on new funding at is prepares to find a buyer for UK accommodation-only retailer Laterooms.

Tui has hired the firm that advised Cheapflights parent Momondo Group on new funding at is prepares to find a buyer for UK accommodation-only retailer Laterooms.

Arma Partners will lead the auction of the site according to a report by Sky News, which neither Tui nor Arma has confirmed.

Arma helped to secure an £80 million majority stake sale of Momondo in October 2014 by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, valuing the firm at £132 million.

Laterooms, a division of Hotelbeds, is among the “non-core” assets in the Tui portfolio that the firm denied it has intentions to sell when Tui AG merged with Tui Travel last year.

However speculation that Tui will look to sell these assets, either as a job lot or gradually has persisted.

Sky claims Tui may struggle to reach a premium valuation for Laterooms, with a glut of travel firms either currently on the market or competing a sale.

These include Kuoni which is selling its tour operating and retail division, lastminute.com sold by Travelocity to Bravofly, and ski and cruise specialist Iglu securing a new backer.

Laterooms was established in 1999 and was valued at £100 million in 2007 when bought by First Choice, the vertically integrated tour operator that merged with Tui.Tui is due to give an update to the markets next week on the progress seen since the merger of its UK and German businesses.