Newmarket Holidays’ CEO Niel Alobaidi has invested in the business .

The company said his cash injection will provide it with the financial capacity to recover from the COVID crisis and return to growth.

Mr Alobaidi is the first new shareholder since 1984, when Simon Hibbs joined the original founders Toni Frei and Jeremy Griffin to lead the company for 38 years.

He joined Newmarket in September 2019 from Emirates Holidays.

Simon Hibbs said he had ‘demonstrated true leadership’ since joining the business. “In return, he has shown his confidence in the potential of Newmarket Holidays, which comes at a time of recovery and growth. This investment will provide every confidence to our customers, employees and supporting stakeholders alike.”

Mr Alobaidi added: “I am grateful to the three founder-owners of Newmarket Holidays for their trust in me over the last two and a half years. There is a strong connection with all the members of the board, which has developed over a critical two years of steering the business through the pandemic”

“Despite the many challenges faced by the travel industry during the last two years, we have emerged in a strong position, with minimal leveraging of the business, thanks to the unwavering dedication of our outstanding team, and I am excited about the opportunities we now have going forward.”

The amount of his investment has not been announced.