p5 news Dec11 9/12/09 22:03 Page 5
ttglive.com
news
Hays’ deal shows
Barrhead plans
England invasion
faith in high street
BARRHEAD Travel is to target Manchester, the
Midlands and the south-east when it begins an
aggressive expansion into England.
Hays Travel’s purchase of Bolton-based St Andrews Scotland’s largest independent travel agency,
Travel could herald further expansion in the north-west,
which has 13 branches north of the border, is
boss John Hays reveals. Chris Gray reports
targeting travel agents in England to work as
franchisees under the Barrhead banner.
The company’s founder, Bill Munro, said:
NORTH-EAST retailer Hays Travel has bought “We’re going to open anywhere we can
the St Andrews Travel chain of shops around – particularly the south-east, the Midlands
Bolton as the first step of an expansion plan in SUNDERLAND and Manchester where the competition
north-west England.
33 shops in the north-east
is fiercest but the pickings are the
Owner John Hays said his acquisition of the most lucrative.
three St Andrews Travel shops demonstrated “We have better deals, more creative ideas
his faith in the future of retail travel agencies and better prices – so we will take market share.”
despite the recession and rise of the internet.
The deal to buy the shops, in Bolton, Horwich
and Westhoughton, for an undisclosed sum was
sealed on Wednesday. All three shops will
be rebranded Hays Travel and all 24
staff, including general manager
C
Carmel Alexander, will keep their jobs.
O
BOLTON
3 new shops – and
Hays said the shops would func-
STO
VER more to come?
R
tion as a base for his company to start
Y
“I have been on the record for a
expansion into the north-west region. decade consistently advancing the case
“The area has a similar demographic to for high street travel agents,” he said. “I
the north-east and we understand the customers. see a long-term future for independent high
It’s the first stage in a new expansion,” he said. street agents and I consider this a demonstration
“We have got 35 shops and there are few of that, by putting my money where my mouth is.”
options left to expand in the north-east; we have Tailor-made and cruise specialist St Andrews
Deeping agencies
pretty much got the region saturated.” Travel was set up in a converted church, called
Hays has a network of affiliated shops in St Andrews, by Andrew Dickson in 1983. The attract buyers
its Independence Group, as well as one company had 10 shops around 2000.
long-established Hays shop in Sheffield and Dickson sold out four years ago to Mac van der SEVERAL agencies have expressed interest in
another in Nottingham, but John Hays said the Merwe, who runs hotels in South Africa. buying shops that were part of Deeping Travel,
St Andrews purchase was the first real move which ceased trading after 40 years last week,
outside the north-east heartland. ■ Comment by Hays’ Jill Gardner, p16 according to administrators.
The agency, which had branches in Market
Deeping, Bourne and March, was run by former
ST ANDREWS BUYOUT.
Worldchoice board member John Lawrence, who
‘Beware of changing the name’
has been made redundant along with eight staff.
Lawrence (pictured) took over the agency from
his parents, who set it up in 1967 when he was
ST ANDREWS Travel founder Andrew Dickson not known in the north-west at all and I would three months old.
(pictured) said he was delighted that his former like to see him retain the brand,” he said. Alan Thornton of administrators Bulley Davey
chain had been bought by a fellow independent Dickson claimed St Andrews had struggled in said about four separate parties had expressed
agency with a similar ethos. recent years because its owner was in South interest in the shops.
But he warned John Hays against Africa and so not directly involved. Some of the Deeping Travel staff had been
rebranding the shops as Hays Travel, General manager Carmel Alexander with the agency for more than 25 years. Agents
saying there was strong local loyalty said the key to the shops’ success in the March shop were praised by customers for
to the St Andrews Travel brand. would be the continuity of the staff ensuring they received their travel documents
“I am thrilled the business is going rather than the name. right up to the last possible moment.
to an independent with the same “We offer a very personal service. ■ Abta and Worldchoice member Guildhall
beliefs I had. But I would be sad to That’s what will ensure customers International Travel, based in Preston, ceased
see the name go. The name Hays is keep coming back to us,” she said. trading on Tuesday.
11.12.2009 05
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