Shearings

Shearings Travel Limited

Company type	Private company
Industry	Coach tour operator, travel and holiday services
Founded	1919 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Founder	Herbert Shearing
Fate	Acquired by Leger Holidays (brand only) in 2020 following administration
Headquarters	Wigan , United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Ireland, Continental Europe
Products	Escorted and independent tours, short breaks, self-drive holidays, river cruises
Number of employees	Approximately 2,460 (prior to 2020 administration) (2020)
Parent	Leger Shearings Group (from 2020)

Shearings (officially Shearings Travel Limited) is a coach tour operator based in the United Kingdom and part of the Leger Shearings Group. The company focuses on escorted and independent tours, short breaks, self-drive holidays, and river cruises throughout the UK, Isle of Man, Ireland, and Continental Europe.

Established in 1919 in Oldham, Greater Manchester by Herbert Shearing, the business experienced several ownership transitions during the latter half of the 20th century. In 1984, Shearings expanded by acquiring Smiths Happiways, a company with origins dating back to 1903.

From 2014 onward, Shearings Holidays was owned by Specialist Leisure Group, supported by Lone Star Funds, until the group entered administration in May 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, in June 2020, Leger Holidays purchased the Shearings brand name, website, and customer database, though other assets were excluded from this acquisition.

Current brand operations

Shearings provides travel tours across both the British Isles and Continental Europe.

History

Prior to being acquired by Leger in 2020, Shearings represented a consolidation of four companies: Smiths Happiways, Shearings itself, National Holidays, and Wallace Arnold. Today, it functions as a travel brand within the Leger Shearings Group alongside Leger Holidays, Battlefield Tours, and Holt Tours.

Origins

Founded in 1919, Shearings merged with Smiths Happiways in 1984; notably, Smiths Happiways has its roots going back to 1903.

Smiths Happiways

The company began when William Webster started haulage and passenger services in 1903. By 1931, Webster Bros (Wigan) was offering excursions and tours to destinations such as North Wales and Manchester. Separately, James Smith initiated coach tours from Wigan and Southport in 1914, including an early journey to John o' Groats. Webster Bros acquired Smith’s enterprise in 1931, creating James Smith & Co (Wigan) Limited. By 1935, tours under the 'Webster's Tours' brand were promoted by Webster Bros.

Smiths introduced tours to Continental Europe in 1938 but paused during WWII. They resumed with a fully booked Switzerland tour in 1946. By 1947, European trips accounted for over 10% of their approximately 6,000 passengers.

In 1958 Les Gleave purchased Smiths and renamed it Smith's Tours (Wigan). Wilf Blundell took ownership in 1964 and expanded the business by acquiring multiple coach companies between 1952 and 1960, forming the Blundell Holiday Group. In 1968 he added Spencer's Tours and Happiway Tours to his holdings and merged them as Happiway-Spencers. By 1975 coaches carried the Smiths Happiway-Spencers branding; this was streamlined to Smiths Happiways by 1980.

Associated Leisure Limited acquired Blundell Group including Smiths Happiways-Spencers in March 1982; after this acquisition the Spencer name was discontinued.

Shearings

Founded by Herbert Shearing in Oldham in 1919, Shearings expanded by purchasing Eniway Motor Tours—a coach express service between Manchester and London—in 1935. When Herbert Shearing retired in 1949, two separate companies were formed: Shearings Tours (Manchester) and Shearings Tours (Oldham), both sold to James Robinson (owner of Happiway Tours) in 1953.

Robinson divested Happiway Tours but kept both Shearings Tours companies together as Shearings Holidays from 1963 before selling them to the Jackson family of Altrincham in 1964. The Jackson family had previously acquired Pleasureways in 1955. After entering resource-sharing agreements with Ribblesdale of Blackburn, coaches were branded as Shearings-Pleasureways-Ribblesdale; this was shortened to Shearings Ribblesdale in 1979 and then simplified again to Shearings Holidays by 1982.

Associated Leisure acquired Shearings Holidays in January 1984. In 1987 Pleasurama purchased Associated Leisure and rebranded its coaches under Smiths Shearings after merging their fleets.

National Holidays was created in 1976 to oversee coach services operated by the state-owned National Bus Company. Pleasurama acquired National Holidays during NBC’s privatisation process in July 1986 and also bought Jenkins of Skewen’s operations in 1988. By 1993 coaches were operating under the Shearings National brand.

In 1989 Mecca Leisure Group took over Pleasurama, dropped the Smiths branding, and combined National Holidays with Shearings. The Rank Organisation acquired Mecca in 1990 and added Eagle Coaches (Tunbridge Wells) and Gwalia Coaches (Llandudno Junction) to its portfolio. Rank sold Shearings Holidays through a management buyout supported by Bridgepoint Capital in 1996.

In 2005 venture capital firm 3i, which owned Wallace Arnold, acquired a controlling interest in Shearings. This led to a merger of former rivals under the WA Shearings brand before consolidating as Shearings Holidays. For a short period eight Wallace Arnold Travel shops were rebranded WA Shearings before reverting back. This merger also included a second National Holidays brand—previously East Yorkshire Travel—owned by Wallace Arnold since 2001.

In 2014 management purchased the company from investors including 3i and Indigo Capital for an undisclosed amount well below its £200 million valuation from 2005. At that time the business operated more than 200 coaches, owned a portfolio of 52 hotels, and provided coach, air, rail, cruise, and hotel breaks covering over 170 global destinations. The company was renamed Specialist Leisure Group Limited before briefly becoming Shearings Leisure Group Limited between 2016 and 2018.

Lone Star Funds acquired the business in April 2016. This private equity firm reportedly contemplated selling Specialist Leisure Group Limited on several occasions prior to its eventual administration. The subsidiary Shearings Hotels Limited managed brands including Bay Hotels and Coast and Country Hotels.

Administration and acquisition by Leger

In May 2020, Specialist Leisure Group (SLG), the parent company of Shearings and a hotel and leisure travel business headquartered in Wigan, entered into administration. SLG, owned by Lone Star Funds, had been unable to secure a buyer during April 2020. Ernst & Young insolvency experts were appointed as administrators, with the company’s liabilities estimated around £200 million. Alongside Shearings Holidays, SLG’s portfolio included National Holidays, Caledonian Travel, UK Breakaways, Coast and Country Hotels, Bay Hotels, Country Living Hotels, UKBreakaways.com, and Wallace Arnold Travel—all of which ceased operations. All existing holiday packages, tours, and hotel reservations were cancelled without replacement dates.

The firm attributed its difficulties primarily to the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business activities. Meanwhile, ABTA – The Travel Association highlighted the complications arising from processing thousands of refund requests during lockdown and a significant reduction in new bookings. At the time of administration, SLG managed a fleet of 240 coaches, employed roughly 2,460 personnel, and operated 44 hotels. Nearly 64,000 bookings were cancelled, mostly involving coach-based holiday packages.

In June 2020, Leger Holidays purchased the Shearings brand name, customer database, and website; however, this acquisition did not include the coaches, former staff members, or hotel properties. Leger expressed intentions to relaunch the well-known Shearings brand with a fresh lineup of UK and European coach holidays. They planned to introduce thirty new UK itineraries for 2021 following the acquisition.

Operations as an independent entity

Leger’s 2020 purchase encompassed solely the Shearings brand identity, website platform, and customer information database; all other assets remained excluded.

Prior to entering administration, Shearings Holidays Limited comprised several divisions: Shearings Holidays itself, Bay Hotels, Coast & Country Hotels, the budget-focused National Holidays brand, Scottish tour operator Caledonian Travel, and Wallace Arnold Travel.

The hotels division was based in Tarbet near Loch Lomond in Scotland. By October 2013, Shearings owned a total of 49 hotel properties spread across England, Scotland, and Wales under two main brands: Bay Hotels and Coast & Country Hotels. Bay Hotels specialized in group holiday experiences featuring cabaret-style entertainment, whereas Coast & Country provided enhanced three-star accommodations with facilities such as swimming pools and spas. Additionally, Shearings maintained partnerships with various hoteliers across the UK and Europe; notably sustaining a long-standing collaboration with Hotel Britannia Excelsior in Lake Como for year-round all-inclusive holiday offerings.

By 2013, Shearings had broadened its river cruise portfolio by exclusively chartering five vessels—including the MPS Rotterdam and MV Esmeralda—while also retailing cruises operated by third parties.

As of April 2016, Shearings operated an estimated fleet of 240 coaches. The progression of their vehicles began with Leyland Tigers before 1991; later incorporating Volvo B10Ms and B12Ms; followed by Setra coaches from 2009; and introducing Mercedes-Benz Tourismo models starting in 2015 for both Shearings and National Holidays brands. This coach fleet was not part of Leger’s acquisition in 2020.