YOUR STORIES 2H Ż ƈ ŵ Ɩ ŭ ƈ I ŭ Reports by Erica Rich, Robin Searle, Andrew McQuarrie and Charlotte Brook PEAKES TRAVEL ELITE Moore buys out agency’s founding partners


Peakes Travel Elite managing director Claire Moore has completed a share buyback from business partners Frances and Russell Peake, making her the sole trader of the business. Moore joined the Shrewsbury-based


agency in 2001 and became managing director and a 50% shareholder in 2015. The deal, which was completed on


September 30, saw the agency buy back the remaining 50% of shares owned by Frances and Russell Peake, who founded the business in 1992. Moore said the deal made “no


difference” to the day-to-day running of the agency, adding: “It’s daunting, but I’ve got every faith in the team and in this business, so it’s exciting as well. “It should’ve happened at the end


of 2019 but didn’t, and then of course all the money that had been set up to do it went into keeping the business afloat [during the pandemic]. “We’ve been steadily building it back


up and we signed off on September 30 – just three years later than planned!” Moore said the pandemic had


prompted the agency to reassess the 22 ASPIRE JANUARY 2024


structure and focus of the business. Peakes Travel Elite now comprises


a team of six – compared with 15 pre-pandemic – and has no plans to expand, with the exception of potentially hiring an apprentice this year. Moore said the agency would also


continue to operate on an appointment- only basis.


She said: “I think we’d almost become a victim of our own success. We were a team of 15 just before


CLAIRE MOORE:


“It’s daunting, but I’ve got every faith in the team and in this business, so it’s exciting as well”


the pandemic – there were more mouths to feed so there was more business that needed to be found. “With all the heartache of the pandemic, it gave me an opportunity to stop and think, actually, what do we want this business to be? It was always due to be a high-end boutique agency, but we ended up just having to do everything. “So we’re privileged now to still only see people by appointment. This is our new way of working now.”


aspiretravelclub.co.uk


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