Barrhead Travel confirms plans to open up to 100 more shops
Glasgow-based Barrhead Travel has ambitions to more than double the size of its UK retail network following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
The company, which was bought by US travel giant Travel Leaders Group last year, has 76 stores in the UK and wants to open up to 100 more.
Travel Leaders Group chairman Mike Batt said the expansion would create hundreds of jobs for former Thomas Cook staff, ‘a good number’ of whom have already joined the company, according to president Jacqueline Dobson.
Barrhead was one of several retailers hoping to buy some of Thomas Cook’s stores from the liquidators, but they lost out to Hays Travel which bought the lot.
However, Barrhead said it still sees an opportunity to expand across the UK. "With the backing of Travel Leaders Group, we are looking forward to opening more Barrhead stores and helping our colleagues across the industry get back to serving their loyal clients," said Dobson.
"The high street travel agency is very much alive in the UK and is pivotal in today’s holiday booking journey. Customer experience and employee development remain our number one priority and this philosophy will be prominent across all of our new stores."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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