18 Wardle Travel shops shut after sale
Major regional travel agency chain Wardle Travel has been broken up after going into administration.
Wardle and subsidiary company Sandbach Travel had 41 branches across the Midlands, North West of England and Wales.
Australian-owned Harvey World Travel has stepped in and taken over the business but is retaining only 22 Wardle shops. These are to trade as wholly-owned agencies and staff will be retained but a further 18 have shut with the loss of about 50 jobs.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers was called in as administrators for the family-owned business based in Stoke on Trent on Wednesday.
Joint administrator Mark Hopkins said: “Following the acquisition of 22 stores by Harvey World Travel for an undisclosed sum, we can confirm that the remaining 18 stores were closed. Harvey World Travel has said that is will of course honour all existing customer holiday arrangements and is writing to advise them of the change.”
Wardle Travel was a long-established agency chain set up by director Doug Wardle, a member of ABTA’s Council of Regions and vice chairman of the association’s Midlands regional committee in 2004. Mr Wardle was an active member of ABTA during 20 years in the travel industry and was a former member of the ABTA board. He was also involved in the Institute of Travel and Tourism.
The Wardle Travel website describes the company as being one of the UK’s fastest growing independent travel agents.
The following branches of Wardle Travel/Sandbach Travel are being reopened as Harvey World Travel: Blackpool, Hanley, Holmes Chapel, Hyde, Longton, Market Street; Longton, Bennett Precinct; Market Drayton, Alkrington, Biddulph, Cheadle, Staffs; Holywell, Lichfield, Lymm, Meir, Penkridge, Rhyl, Stafford, Wrexham, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Ormskirk, St.Helens and Sandbach (Sandbach Travel Ltd).
ABTA said other branches which not have been taken over and will close are in: Accrington, Ashton-under-Lyne, Burnley, Cheetham Hill, Kings Norton, Leyland, Llandudno, Bolton, Chorlton, Heaton Mersey (Stockport), Leigh, Mold, Preston, Stone, Poulton-le-Fylde, Rugeley, Walkden and Irlam.
ABTA said: “If customers have booked with Wardle Travel or Sandbach Travel then in the first instance they should contact the credit control department of their tour operator. For any other queries, please call ABTA on 020 7637 2444 for assistance.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt