Who wins when Britain goes on holiday?

For millions of Brits, this will mean heading to Europe by plane, train or ferry to soak up the culture, visit the shops or hit the beaches. According to official figures, Spain tops the list of favoured destinations with almost 18 million annual visits, followed by 9.3 million to France and 4.8 million to Italy.

But which companies are likely to enjoy bumper profits from this mass exodus – and what investment funds have most exposure to the likely winners?

Booking the getaway

Let’s start with the businesses cashing in before you’ve even left these shores. Booking Holidays is the world’s largest online travel company, with brands such as Booking.com under its ownership. It’s held by the Brunner Investment Trust*, an all-weather portfolio aiming to provide growth in capital value and dividends over the long term. The quartet of managers at the helm also hold InterContinental Hotels Group*, which owns more than 7,000 hotels across the world operating under brands such as Holiday Inn and Iberostar. We see this trust as a strong contender for anyone wanting a core global equity holding, as the portfolio strikes a balance between quality, growth and value.

Other potential travel beneficiaries include budget airline easyJet. It recently predicted that customer numbers were expected to grow by low double digits over the whole of 2026. The stock is held by the Murray Income Trust, a core UK offering aiming for attractive income and capital growth. The trust also holds SSP Group**, a food and drink operator that manages units in major transport hubs across Europe which tourists are likely to visit.

Tourism spending

How about when tourists arrive on the continent? Well, there are plenty of businesses eager for their custom and many of them are held by the Fidelity European Trust. These include luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy, confectionery business Nestlé and even L’Oréal, which is known for its personal care products***. The trust’s managers, Samuel Morse and Marcel Stotzel, also hold Ryanair and TotalEnergies, which operates and supplies petrol forecourts in Europe.

Of course, if the predicted heatwave happens, then visitors will be looking to cool down, so the likes of Magnum Ice Cream could do well. This is one of the largest holdings in the WS Lightman European fund***, which aims to provide long-term capital growth from a portfolio of 40 to 50 holdings.

Elsewhere, investors can also find some quality European exposure in the Rathbone Global Opportunities fund that’s been managed by James Thomson for many years. This is a truly active, unconstrained growth fund that currently has around 19% allocation to Europe ex-UK*. The US has the lion’s share of 71%, with the UK weighing in with 7.7%. James has been invested in many European names this year, including TJX Companies, the operator of TK Maxx, which has a large European presence, and which remains one of his 10 largest holdings*.

Country allocations

Let’s now consider the countries, sectors and company sizes that are currently favoured by the managers of European funds.

France

There are numerous world-leading French companies, so it’s no surprise that the country has the biggest geographic allocation in many European portfolios. It accounts for almost 20% of the Montanaro European Income fund***, which looks to provide a stable and growing income stream from a broad range of companies. Leading names include Euronext, which operates stock exchanges across the continent, and Amundi, the asset manager***. Another fund favouring French exposure is BlackRock Continental European Income. Its aim is to identify undervalued European companies offering reliable and sustainable dividends.

Spain

Visitors to Spain will be arriving in a country that’s still celebrating their football team’s success over Argentina in the World Cup final. The Janus Henderson European Focus fund, a diversified portfolio of 30 to 40 stocks, currently has around 12% exposure to the country***. Its holdings include Iberdrola***, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies that has operations across Europe and other international markets. Spain’s Banco Santander has also been a strong performer for the fund, according to the most recent update. “The sector fared well in June as investors turned more positive about the prospects for the European economy and the outlook for bank earnings,” it explained.

Smaller companies

So far, we’ve focused on larger European companies. However, another way to invest in the region is by putting money into smaller businesses. There’s more potential for positive surprises because these stocks are less closely scrutinised than their larger-cap cousins. However, this also means they can be more volatile. The Janus Henderson European Smaller Companies fund has a style-agnostic approach, which means its managers will buy growth companies at reasonable prices and consider neglected areas. According to their latest commentary, strong recent performers have included Dutch housebuilder Koninklijke Heijmans: “We are also seeing signs of improvement in key regions, including Swedish consumer sentiment, and are hopeful that recent pro-growth reforms in Germany will soon start to translate into economic activity,” they added.

*Source: fund factsheet, 31 May 2026
**Source: full portfolio holdings, 31 March 2026
***Source: fund factsheet, 30 June 2026