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Specialist agency bought by UK travel group
Barrhead Travel has bought Falkirk-based cruise agency The Holiday Specialists for £3 million.
The Scottish travel group said the acquisition is the first of many.
The Holiday Specialists is predominantly a direct online cruise agent with an annual turnover of £33 million via its website. All of its 60 staff will be retained.
Barrhead has predicted the acquisition could see its 2013 turnover climb by 22% to over £200 million.
CEO Sharon Munro said: "This acquisition has seen Barrhead Travel end 2012 on a very high note.
"After a successful year in which the company opened several new managed and corporate branches, we have now taken the next step toward our planned expansion.
"We already have a large, multi-million pound cruise division, which is expanding year on year. The Cruise Specialists are purely a direct and online cruise retailer, specialising in the luxury end of the market.
"The majority of their customers come from south of the border, and so this purchase will further strengthen the position of Barrhead Travel as a major cruise sales agency within England and the rest of the UK."
The Cruise Specialists will operate as a subsidiary of the company and not be integrated into the existing Barrhead brands.
Phil Ginn, founder and managing director of The Cruise Specialists, will remain with the business and the existing management structure will be retained.
Barrhead, which has expanded from a traditional ‘bucket and spade’ travel agent to a multi-faceted travel group, was recently named in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100, see previous story.
By Diane Evans
Diane
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