Abercrombie & Kent Is Reportedly Exploring U.S. Stock Market Debut

Abercrombie & Kent could soon join the host of travel brands that are public companies, according to a report in the U.K.’s Telegraph this week.

According to the report, A&K is in talks with bankers on a potential IPO, sometime over the next 18 to 24 months. The report, which includes comments from CEO Cristina Levis, says that while it has not been decided yet, A&K is targeting its IPO in New York, rather than London.

In a statement to TMR, A&K confirmed the Telegraph article, but didn’t comment further.

A&K has surged post-pandemic, rapidly expanding as the luxury travel market took off once restrictions were lifted.

At its 100 Club event for travel advisors earlier this year, the company said that it had its best year ever in 2023 and 2024 was trending to be even better. While much of that is due to the heavy demand for luxury travel, A&K has also innovated its product offering, something that it will continue to do over the next two years.

That includes a long list of additions, including a new DMC for Mexico, which it opened in June, an expedition ship for Crystal Cruises, and an expansion of some of its signature products including its small group journeys and private jet journeys.

Growing appetites for IPOs

If and when A&K does go public, it will join an increasingly crowded field of travel companies traded on a U.S.-based stock exchange.

That field includes airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United, a host of major cruise companies such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corp., and the biggest hotel companies such as Marriott, Hilton Hotels, and Hyatt.

The biggest name to join that field in the last year was Viking Holdings, the parent company of Viking Cruise Lines, which filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “VIK” in April.