‘We can now handle small agency businesses nationwide’: Elman Wall becomes Xeinadin

Wall insists there will be benefits for travel clients, new and old. “It means we can provide new services," he explains. "We have our own VAT units, and we can deal with much smaller businesses due to the network of firms Xeinadin owns.

"We can now handle small travel agency businesses nationwide. It’s a really positive development, because we can help far more people.”

To this end, a deal with a consortium “with several hundred members” is in negotiations. Xeinadin also has a large presence in Ireland, allowing Wall’s team to work more with EU members.

Wall was one of the founders of Xeinadin, which he describes as a “consolidator”. He and his original partners are now partners in Xeinadin, as opposed to owning Elman Wall.

Xeinadin is backed by Exponent private equity, whose other investments include Big Bus Tours and Trainline.

Apart from this – and the name change, which he admits, is “completely made up” – it’s business as usual. This includes holding the firm’s annual Leaders in Travel summit in October.

‘We knew we had to specialise’

It’s all a long way from Wall’s beginnings. “Elman Wall really started in 1995 when we got our first travel clients,” Wall recalls. “We went to the ITT conference on Rhode Island and then to the Abtof conference in Saint Martin.

"That’s when I decided to specialise in travel, not electrics. We knew we had to specialise – it takes years, but we managed to get a following and a reputation."

However, he admits that in the firm’s early days, "its reputation preceded our knowledge". "You’re an expert if you tell people you’re an expert – and then you have to live up to that," he says.

Nevertheless, the firm grew organically and through referrals. “We started in a basement flat off Baker Street with five staff and £500,000 turnover. This year, it’s just over £6 million and we have 60 staff and an office in The City.”

The office is on the eighth floor. “We’ve gone from the basement to the penthouse," he adds.

It’s also next to The Ned, one of the City’s swankier members clubs and restaurant venues. “I’m not a member, but we have a lot of meetings there, usually around four o’clock – before the music starts.”

‘We brought the industry together’

Asked about the most difficult part of his career, he mentions Covid without any hesitation. “Eighty per cent of our clients lost 90% of their turnover," he reveals. "We were working flat out trying to help them stay afloat. Of course, they didn’t have the money to pay us.”

Elman Wall’s "Zoominars" quickly became the stuff of legend, attracting up to 500 attendees for “four to five hours” each time. “We got a lot of kudos for that," Wall says. "I would like to think we brought the industry together.”