The Bristol office of transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson has advised longstanding client Piper Private Equity on a £7m investment into a specialist villa brand.
London-based The Thinking Traveller was launched in 2002 with seven villas in Sicily and today has 220 highly curated properties, including some of the most sought-after holiday rentals in the Mediterranean. 
The business, which had sales of £20m last year, has been voted Best Villa Rental Company for the past five consecutive years by the readers of CN Traveller magazine.
Piper’s investment will help it curate a broader selection of exclusive villas in new destinations around the Med through strategic acquisitions and partnerships and expand the brand further in its core markets of the UK, Europe, the US and Australia.
The investment is the ninth from the latest £123m fund run by Piper, which specialises in backing leading consumer brands.
The Womble Bond Dickinson team advising on The Thinking Traveller transaction was led by corporate partner Simon Hewes, managing associate Sammy Hill and solicitor Joanna Norris, assisted by a wider team of specialist lawyers.
The team has a strong track record acting for Piper, including its recent investments into Pet Food UK, Flat Iron Restaurants, Mindful Chef and Neom Organics.
It also advised Piper on the sale of another petfood business Forthglade – the fast-growing ‘posh’ dog food brand – to European private equity group IK Investment Partners.
Simon Hewes, pictured, said: “It is always a pleasure working with the team at Piper, which has a deep passion for growing young consumer brands into highly successful mature businesses. 
“We’re thrilled to have advised them on this exciting new investment into The Thinking Traveller.
“Despite the challenging operating environment we find ourselves in due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, our focus in the retail & consumer sector coupled with our strong corporate credentials and understanding of the client, meant we were able to secure the best possible outcome and a smooth completion for Piper.”
Piper investment director Dan Stern, who led the deal, added: “We are very excited to be backing The Thinking Traveller team for the next stage of growth.
“Although the travel industry has been badly hit by Covid, our consumer insight work shows that people are more eager than ever to see new countries and experience new cultures.
“As a brand that is unrivalled in its satisfaction levels among both clients and villas owners, The Thinking Traveller is exceptionally placed to benefit from this pent-up demand as we emerge from the pandemic.
“Once again we extend our thanks to the Womble Bond Dickinson team for their ongoing first rate legal expertise and we look forward to working with them as we continue to expand our investment portfolio.”
Retail & consumer is one of Womble Bond Dickinson’s key sectors. The firm has eight UK bases – of which Bristol is the second largest – and 19 offices in the US.
