Leitner Reisen receives double-digit million mezzanine financing

Frank­furt am Main / Aller­s­berg — Leit­ner Reisen GmbH, a leading provi­der of group tours based in Aller­s­berg in central Fran­co­nia, is posi­tio­ning itself for further growth and is rely­ing on mezza­nine capi­tal from VR Equi­typ­art­ner (VREP). The Fran­k­­furt-based equity finan­cing house has provi­ded Leit­ner Reisen with a double-digit million amount, which the company intends to invest in various growth steps. 

Leit­ner Reisen GmbH, based in Aller­s­berg near Nurem­berg, has been offe­ring orga­ni­zed group and adven­ture tours for more than 75 years. The program includes coach, air and boat trips, mainly within Europe. In addi­tion to cultu­ral and round trips, the offer also includes city trips as well as spa and well­ness stays. Awards such as the recent award of the “Quality Winner 2025” seal from the German Insti­tute for Service Quality are proof of its success. Perso­nal service, clear proces­ses and good value for money have helped the company gain a loyal custo­mer base in German-spea­king count­ries. Leit­ner Reisen is parti­cu­larly strong in the best ager segment. The former family busi­ness has been owned by a fund advi­sed by ECM Equity Capi­tal Manage­ment since 2014; Rafael Baer (Finance, HR, IT, Sales) and Fabian Schre­der (Product & Opera­ti­ons) have been mana­ging the company since 2024. 

“Medium-sized compa­nies on a growth path are curr­ently incre­asingly reco­gni­zing the advan­ta­ges of mezza­nine capi­tal as an alter­na­tive form of finan­cing. It offers flexi­ble condi­ti­ons adapted to the respec­tive busi­ness model, has the charac­ter of equity and preser­ves the exis­ting share­hol­der struc­ture,” says VREP Mana­ging Direc­tor Chris­tian Futter­lieb. “We are deligh­ted that we can also support Leit­ner Reisen with this — a tradi­tio­nal and exci­ting company with a lot of growth potential.” 

The parties have agreed not to disc­lose details of the contract.

VR Equi­typ­art­ner at a glance

VR Equi­typ­art­ner is one of the leading equity finan­ciers in Germany, Austria and Switz­er­land. The company supports medium-sized family busi­nesses in a goal-orien­­ted manner and with deca­des of expe­ri­ence in the stra­te­gic solu­tion of complex finan­cing issues. Invest­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties include growth and expan­sion finan­cing, corpo­rate succes­sion or share­hol­der chan­ges. VR Equi­typ­art­ner offers majo­rity and mino­rity invest­ments as well as mezza­nine finan­cing. As a subsi­diary of DZ BANK, the central insti­tu­tion of the coope­ra­tive banks in Germany, VR Equi­typ­art­ner consis­t­ently puts the sustaina­bi­lity of corpo­rate deve­lo­p­ment ahead of short-term exit thin­king. VR Equi­typ­art­ner’s port­fo­lio curr­ently compri­ses around 40 commit­ments with an invest­ment volume of EUR 400 million.
Further infor­ma­tion can be found at www.vrep.de.

The tran­sac­tion team at VR Equitypartner:

Thiemo Bisch­off, Alex­an­der Koch, Sebas­tian Leker, Jens Schöf­fel, Simone Weck, Dr. Clau­dia Willershausen