On the Beach

On the Beach Group plc is a UK-based travel retailer specialising in short and medium haul ‘Flight + Hotel’ holidays to Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Simon Cooper, who began his career in the travel industry while attending university, when he founded a ski holiday company called On the Piste. He geared the business toward groups of students wanting to go on budget-friendly ski holidays to the French Alps by coach. Meanwhile, in 2004, Cooper started working on a new venture, On the Beach. When TUI Group's Thomson Holidays (since renamed TUI UK) purchased On the Piste in 2008, Cooper then directed his full attention to his new platform. In 2007, private equity investor Livingbridge acquired a majority stake in the company for £36 million. In 2008, the company relocated to larger premises at Spectrum House on Towers Business Park in Didsbury, Manchester to house additional employees.