£multi-million deal expands global footprint to 100 cities, boosts North America presence
Secret Food Tours, the UK travel technology company, has acquired Local Food Tours, a leading experiential tour operator based in Montreal and Quebec City. The move strengthens Secret Food Tours’s footprint in North America and highlights the scalability of its proprietary tech platform, which now operates across 100 cities in five continents.
The £multi-million deal represents around 4.5x EBITDA plus commitment to further investment. Local Food Tours’ portfolio includes food tours, beer tours, and free walking tours, and will continue operating under its own brand, alongside Secret Food Tours in Canada.
Oliver Mernick-Levene, co-founder of Secret Food Tours and Executive Director, said:
“We’ve admired Local Food Tours for a number of years and built our companies around the same principles, local expertise, high-quality food experiences, and storytelling. This acquisition is as much about cultural alignment as it is about strategic fit.”
While the two brands will continue to run independently, operational integration behind the scenes is already completed.
Secret Food Tour’s proprietary technology platform has allowed for seamless onboarding, from scheduling and customer service to marketing and financial operations. This same system already supports over 500 guides, 70 full-time staff, and the delivery of more than 200 different experiences in around 100 cities worldwide.
Nico Jacquart, Secret Food Tours co-founder and CEO, said:
“Without our proprietary tech, we simply couldn’t grow at this pace or maintain the quality we’re known for. This deal is proof that you can scale authentic, local experiences, if you have the right platform behind them.”
Frederik Nissen, co-founder of Local Food Tours added:
“Selling a company is a rare and emotional moment for entrepreneurs. After 15 years successfully running tours in Montreal and Quebec City, we were impressed by the professionalism of the Secret Food Tours team and how they took time to understand local differences. We’re excited to keep working together on new projects, such as developing food tours and floating sauna combos experiences in Quebec City.”
Secret Food Tours is one of the UK’s fastest-growing private companies, recognised by Deloitte’s Fast Technology 50 (#7 overall) and featured in the Sunday Times for its rapid global expansion. Since the global pandemic lockdown, Secret Food Tours has steadily built the most extensive network of experiential food tours in the world — almost entirely through organic growth.
Secret Food Tours plans further growth, targeting 30 new cities a year. Further deals are already in development.