How L Catterton Quietly Became One of Travel’s Most Interesting Investors

Photo Credit: A plane flying over the mountains. Grok L Catterton kept turning up in my reporting and background research on the travel industry. It led an $800 million investment in private aviation company Flexjet, backed river cruise operator AmaWaterways alongside co-investors with roughly $890 million, and had already put money into Despegar, Norwegian Cruise Line, OneSpaWorld, and GetYourGuide. More recently, its reach has stretched into live experiences through Fever and into hospitality through a new luxury hotel strategy. Then, while Skift was reporting on the attempted sale of British luxury tour operator Audley Travel, L Catterton turned up again as one of the final potential buyers, though that deal ultimately fell through. At some point, the individual transactions start to look like something larger. L Catterton manages about $40 billion and is one of the world’s largest investment firms focused specifically on consumer businesses, with an investment history spanning fashion, food, fitness