Founded in 1919, in Oldham, Greater Manchester by Herbert Shearing, the brand has been transferred between various owners in the late 20th century.

[15] Associated Leisure (who had acquired The Blundell Group including Smiths Happiways-Spencers in 1982) purchased Shearings Holidays in January 1984.

[18] In 1989, Mecca Leisure Group purchased Pleasurama, dropping the Smiths name and subsequently merging National Holidays with Shearings.

[25] Rank then sold Shearings Holidays to a management buyout in 1996, backed by Bridgepoint Capital.

[35] In April 2016, the business was purchased by Lone Star Funds,[36][37][38] although it was reported the private equity firm has considered selling Specialist Leisure Group Limited on at least two prior occasions before later administration.

[39] Insolvency specialists from Ernst & Young were appointed as administrators, with debts calculated to be £200 million.

Leger stated they are "bringing the iconic Shearings name back to life" and that they will offer a new programme of coach holidays in the UK and Europe.

Shearings' hotels division was based at its registered office, in Tarbet, Loch Lomond, Scotland, G83 7DE.

In October 2013, Shearings owned 49 properties across England, Scotland and Wales operated under the Bay Hotels and Coast & Country brands.

Coast & Country had all been upgraded to at least three-star standard, and offer a more relaxed atmosphere, often with additional facilities such as swimming pools, saunas, fitness rooms and Jacuzzis.

Shearings also worked with a wide variety of hoteliers across the UK and Europe, from small family-run hotels to large chains.

The company had a particularly close relationship[citation needed] with the Hotel Britannia Excelsior in Lake Como, with whom Shearings worked for many years.

[citation needed] By April 2016, the former independent operator had a fleet consisted of approximately 240 coaches.

From 2009, the company purchased Setras, and from 2015, Mercedes-Benz Tourismo coaches in both twin and tri-axle variants, for both the Shearings and National Holidays fleets.