TRAVEL entrepreneurs John and Hugh Boyle have bought a
controlling stake in Chelsea-based villa specialist CV Travel.
The upmarket tour operator joins Zoom Airlines and
Scottish operator Go Travel Direct as part of the travel division of John
Boyle’s Hamilton Portfolio.
UK director of Zoom Airlines and Go Travel Direct
Debbie Marshall becomes managing director of CV Travel, which has villas in
Greece, Italy and across the Mediterranean. It was set up as Corfu Villas in
1972.
CV Travel owners Richard and Patricia Cookson will
stay on and there are no redundancies planned for the company’s 30 UK employees
or overseas staff.
“It’s important to keep the company’s ethos and there
is a fantastic client base which we need to make sure we retain,” said Marshall.
However, she added there were plans to make CV
Travel’s current website bookable and turn it into a year-round programme.
“There are opportunities as the company has lacked
investment in technology and is currently a summer-only brand,” she added.
Other plans include working more closely with travel
agents.
The operator gets about 10% of its business through
the trade and is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators.
Marshall said there was
potential to increase sales through agents to 20%.