Advantage in talks to keep hold of Barrhead Travel
Talks are taking place between Advantage Travel Centres and one of its largest members, Barrhead Travel, following the announcement that Barrhead is joining up with Midcounties Co-operative Travel.
Barrhead and Midcounties are forming a new partnership, Venture, which they claim will create the largest buying group in the industry.
Set to launch on November 1, the venture will see Midcounties take on Barrhead’s Nevis in-house technology system, which Midcounties chief executive Ben Reid described as "the future of travel retailing".
The pair plan to work together to increase their buying power with suppliers.
Barrhead chairman Bill Munro said the similarities between the businesses were striking from the outset.
One of Advantage’s largest members, Barrhead says it has given its notice to Advantage and will leave at the end of September
But Advantage leisure director Julia Lo Bue Said insisted talks are still ongoing and Barrhead remains a member until its membership expires in March 2014.
When asked about the impact on Advantage should Barrhead leave, she said: "Barrhead operates very independently and therefore there will be no impact to our overall buying power which on leisure, is in aggregate of around £1.5 billion."
Midcounties had joined Advantage as a temporary measure following the Thomas Cook Co-operative Travel merger. It is due to leave in September.
Senior management from all parties are currently in Abu Dhabi for the Institute of Travel and Tourism Conference, where the discussions are taking place.
Barrhead Travel, founded in Glasgow by Bill Munro in 1975, is Scotland’s largest independent travel group and employs 750 staff across 50 locations.
It bought UK-based cruise agency ‘The Holiday Specialists’ in December 2012 in a deal worth in the region of £3 million. Barrhead Travel predicts the acquisition could see its 2013 turnover climb by 22% to over £200 million.
Midcounties Co-Operative Travel, which aims is to become the leading independent travel retailer in the UK, has 400 staff in total across 54 high street travel branches, online and consortium businesses, including 130 Personal Travel Agents nationwide.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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