Midcounties Co-op joins Advantage
The Midcounties Co-operative Travel will join Advantage Travel Centres from 1 April.
It follows Midcounties’ decision not to take part in the merger between Thomas Cook, the Co-operative Travel Group and Midlands Co-operative.
Midcounties chief executive Ben Reid said: "It was a bold decision to remove ourselves from the merger with Thomas Cook. We have worked hard to build the integrity of the Co-operative brand with consumers and were not prepared to give it up lightly.
"We would only lend our considerable commercial muscle to an organisation that shares our same vision and values. I am confident Advantage Travel Centres is that partner and look forward to working with ATC as an active member of the organisation."
Alistair Rowland, group general manager of Travel Services for Midcounties, added: "Effective partnerships such as this will prove invaluable as we pursue our strategy to grow quickly and strongly as a fully independent travel retailer delivering the best deals to the people who trust their holiday bookings with us.
"We will work closely with Advantage’s Chief Executive John McEwan and his team to ensure that we optimise the partnership, particularly in the commercial and marketing areas led by Julie Gibson."
Midcounties Co-operative Travel currently has overall sales of more than £80 million.
It runs 35 travel branches, along with the website www.cooptravel.co.uk, and with a strong high street presence across the West Midlands and the Cotswolds.
Last month Northern Irish travel group Consort, with 30 outlets, also joined Advantage Travel Centres.
by Bev Fearis
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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