PGL Travel facts for kids
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| Traded as | PGL |
|---|---|
| Industry | Educational Travel, Holidays |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Founder | Peter Gordon Lawrence |
| Headquarters |
United Kingdom
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
| Services | Holiday camps and activities |
| Owner | Midlothian Capital Partners |
PGL Travel Ltd is a company that runs exciting activity camps and school trips for children and young people in the United Kingdom. It is part of a bigger group called HB Education. This group also includes NST and European Study Tours.
Contents
The Story of PGL
PGL began in 1957. It was started by Peter Gordon Lawrence and was first called PGL Voyages.
Early Adventures
In the 1960s and early 1970s, PGL offered adventures for young adults. These trips focused on canoeing, sailing, and pony trekking. People stayed in tents during these early holidays.
Growing Bigger
PGL soon started focusing on school trips and group travel. In the 1980s, the company grew a lot. They bought more properties, like a large mansion in Scotland and a converted farm in England.
PGL also opened an office in the South of France. They became one of the first UK companies to offer canoeing holidays in the amazing Ardèche Gorge.
New Activities and Places
In the early 1990s, PGL expanded even more. They took over other adventure programs and centres from other companies. This helped them grow in the school adventure market in the UK and France. In 1993, PGL started offering school ski trips.
In 2000, PGL bought Château de Grande Romaine. This was a huge former hotel near Paris that could host 300 people.
Even More Growth
In 2005, PGL bought 3D Education and Adventure. This was their biggest competitor at the time. This purchase gave PGL three more centres on the South Coast of England. It also added one centre on the Isle of Wight. PGL also started providing children's activities at Pontins holiday sites.
In 2007, PGL was sold to a company called Holidaybreak Plc. PGL became the first part of Holidaybreak's Education Division. PGL bought more important properties in the UK. These included Caythorpe Court in 2004 and a large facility near Liddington in 2009.
In 2011, Holidaybreak was bought by Cox & Kings Limited from India. In 2014, PGL opened an office in Melbourne, Australia. They also bought three centres there: Campaspe Downs, Camp Rumbug, and Kindilan.
In 2017, PGL looked to buy two new centres in the UK. These were Newby Wiske Hall and Bawdsey Manor on the Suffolk Heritage Coast.
What PGL Offers Today
PGL's main business is still school trips and educational travel. These trips include adventure activities. They also offer trips focused on subjects like science, maths, and French language.
During school terms, PGL mainly offers holidays for schools and youth groups. They also host birthday parties and day trips. When school is out, PGL offers adventure holidays for families and for children only, like summer camps.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic affected PGL's business.
PGL Around the World
PGL has centres in France for school groups and other youth groups. These centres offer both activity and educational holidays.
PGL also has three centres in Australia. These are for school groups, youth groups, and school holiday camps.
PGL Centres in Northern France
- Le Pré Catelan, Hauts-de-France
- Château du Tertre, Ambrières-les-Vallées, Mayenne (This centre is close to, and advertised as being in, Normandy)
- Château de Grande Romaine, Île-de-France
PGL Centres in Australia
- PGL Campaspe Downs (Kyneton, Victoria)
- PGL Camp Rumbug (South Gippsland, Victoria)
- PGL Kindilan (Redland Bay, Queensland)
