 | |
| Traded as | PGL |
|---|---|
| Industry | Educational Travel, Holidays |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Founder | Peter Gordon Lawrence |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Services | Holiday camps and activities |
| Owner | Midlothian Capital Partners |
| Website | www |
PGL Travel Ltd is a provider of school activity courses and summer camps for children in the United Kingdom. Along with NST, European Study Tours and StudyLink it is a part of the HB Education group, owned by Midlothian Capital Partners.
History
PGL was established in 1957 by Peter Gordon Lawrence as PGL Voyages. In the 1960s and early 1970s, its market was young adults and based on three main activities – canoeing, sailing and pony trekking – with accommodation in tents. PGL moved into the school and group travel market and expanded in the 1980s, purchasing more properties, ranging from a mansion house in Perthshire to a converted farm in Oxfordshire.
PGL opened a headquarters in the South of France and became one of the first UK organisers of canoeing holidays in the Ardèche Gorge.
In the early 1990s, the acquisition by the company of the former Quest Outdoor Adventure programme, and of a number of centres operated by competitors, resulted in a considerable expansion in the schools' adventure market in the UK and France. In 1993, the company entered the school ski market with the acquisitions of Ski Europe and Ski Wessex.
In 2000, PGL purchased Château de Grande Romaine, a 300-bed former hotel and grounds on the eastern outskirts of Paris.
In 2005, PGL completed the purchase of 3D Education and Adventure, their biggest competitor, which gave the company three more centres on the South Coast of England, one on the Isle of Wight and a contract with Pontins to provide children's activities on their sites.
The company was sold in 2007 to Holidaybreak Plc and formed the first part of that company's Education Division. Significant property acquisitions in the UK included Caythorpe Court, near Grantham, in 2004 and in 2009, a facility near Liddington in Wiltshire.
In July 2011, Holidaybreak was purchased by Cox & Kings Limited, based in India. In 2014, PGL opened an office in Melbourne, Australia and acquired two centres in Victoria and one in Queensland: Campaspe Downs, Camp Rumbug and Kindilan.
In 2017, PGL sought to acquire two new centres: Newby Wiske Hall (formerly North Yorkshire Police Headquarters) and Bawdsey Manor on the Suffolk Heritage Coast.
PGL's largest area of business continues to be school trips and educational travel. These range from activity and adventure trips to subject focussed trips such as science, ICT, Maths, Field Studies and French Language courses. During the UK school terms, PGL mainly offers school and youth group holidays, as well as birthday parties and day trips. Outside term, PGL also offers family and child-only adventure holidays (summer camps).
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic had an effect on its business, leading to disputes with customers concerning refunds.
Abroad
PGL has centres in France for school groups and other youth groups - which offer both activity and educational holidays - and 3 centres in Australia for school groups, youth and other groups, and school holiday camps.
France
- Château de Grande Romaine, Île-de-France
- Domaine de Segries, Ardèches
Australia
- PGL Camp Rumbug (South Gippsland, Victoria)
- PGL Campaspe Downs (Kyneton, Victoria)
- PGL Kindilan (Redland Bay, Queensland)
References
- "Peter Gordon Lawrence". The Independent. 31 August 2004. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- Bowers, Simon (18 May 2007). "Multimillion pound windfall for PGL bosses". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- "North Yorkshire Police announce sale of headquarters of 40 years near Northallerton". Itv.com. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- Megan Goodwin (24 March 2017). "Bawdsey Manor purchased by adventure holiday company PGL". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "PGL". Girlguiding. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- "Hard-up parents plea for refunds from PGL travel firm". BBC News. 6 May 2020.
Sources
- The Independent, 24 July 2008
- Article from The FT on acquisition by Cox & Kings, 18 August 2011
- Article from Travel Weekly, 27 July 2011
- Article on expansion to the Australian market, 17 January 2014
- BBC article on purchase of PGL Liddington, 13 May 2010
