United Co-op Travel Group and Travelcare to merge
Final approval has been given to a merger between the Co-operative Group and United Co-operatives, which will see their travel divisions merge.
Mike Greenacre, currently group general manager of United’s travel operation, will be managing director of the newly formed Co-operative Travel Group.
He will take charge of the merged travel businesses of the two groups, forming an operation with a turnover of around £1 billion and a network of more than 450 travel branches.
Amanda Williams, managing director of the Co-operative Group’s travel arm, Travelcare, is to leave the organisation.
Greenacre said: “The travel operations of the two businesses largely complement each other and, while we are only at the start of an integration process, we will be making the most of the many opportunities that await us, not only in travel retailing but in tour operating as we had previously announced.”
Paying tribute to Williams, he added: “Amanda has made a major and significant contribution to Travelcare’s development in her 21 years’ service with the business.
“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have worked with her in developing the Co-operative Travel Trading Group, tinged with some sadness that we will not be working together to further develop the business.”
Williams said: “This is a good move for Travelcare and I’m sure the merged business will go from strength to strength. The time is right for me to move on and find fresh challenges within the travel sector.”
Greenacre will continue in his role as chief operating officer for the Co-operative Travel Trading Group, the central buying operation for Co-operative travel businesses.
The merger of the two parent companies will create a co-operative with a turnover of more than £9 billion.
Martin Beaumont, group chief executive of the Co-operative Group, who announced last October that he would retire in 2007, will bring forward his retirement to the end of July.
The merged organisation, which comes into being on July 29, will be headed by Peter Marks, currently chief executive of United Co-operatives who becomes chief executive of the Co-operative Trading Group.
United Co-operatives Travel Group is based in Stoke-on-Trent and operates almost 140 travel branches, as well as Future Travel, Freedom Travel, a franchise operation for independent agents and Cumbria Cruise Club, a specialist cruise call centre and web-based cruise business, Apollo Travel Direct, a fulfilment call centre and Co-operative Travel Management, a national business travel operation based in Stafford.
Travelcare, based in Manchester, has over 300 high street branches, a website business, a flights-only operation, Cheapestflights, and a number of major retailing brands including Medinland, Magic Breaks and Security Travel.
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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