Hurtigruten

Repositioning and investing behind market-leading brands
Hurtigruten is a leading Norwegian brand. Its fleet of ships has been connecting towns along the Norwegian coast since 1893 and today, Hurtigruten is one of the global leaders in expedition travel

Hurtigruten is a leading provider of cruise based, adventure tourism. Having originated as a transport and tourism company in the 19th century, it now offers authentic, year-round travel experiences along the Norwegian coast and in remote locations across the world on its 16-strong fleet of ships

The company offers cruises to an international customer base along the Norwegian Coast as well as expedition cruises in the Arctic and Antarctic and trips with Hurtigruten Svalbard, the largest tour operator on the island of Spitsbergen.

Hurtigruten Norway and Hurtigruten Expeditions were separated into two independent businesses with distinct brands and offering.

  • At a glance
  • Status: Realised
  • Deal Type: Public to Private
  • Sector: Leisure
  • Initial Investment Date: December 2014
  • Website: www.hurtigruten.com

Transaction

We had been actively reviewing opportunities in the Scandinavian leisure space for many years and, as part of this initiative, began following Hurtigruten in 2011.

We spent a significant amount of time building our understanding of the business and the wider market, as well as fostering relationships with the management team. Our discussions culminated in  the take private of the company in December 2014.

During TDR’s investment

  • We worked with management to implement a number of operational and commercial initiatives, which resulted in substantial growth between 2014 and 2019
  • We undertook a considerable capital expenditure programme, refurbishing six Norwegian Coast ships thereby enhancing Hurtigruten’s product offering and customer experience onboard
  • The Expedition division was transformed positioning the business to take advantage of the significant growth in global demand for adventure travel. This included adding new capacity and growing the Expedition fleet from one ship at acquisition to six in 2024, including two newly built state-of-the-art hybrid ships. Furthermore, the  division also significantly expanded its routes and global marketing outreach with sailings in the Artic, the Antarctic, as well as North and South America
  • The company experienced significant disruption to its operations since 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and its impact on the global travel industry
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Strong fleet of ships
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Hybrid expedition ship
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