Four of the shops that faced closure last year with the collapse of Ambassador Travel not only survived but are thriving. Juliet Dennis reports
A year ago, the fate of six travel agencies and their staff hung in the balance after the sudden failure of Ambassador Travel.
Now, four of those six agencies are back trading under different names – and are thriving in a way they could never have imagined.
Two of the six – in Gillingham, Dorset, and Wantage, Oxfordshire – closed and staff were made redundant when the business, which had a £6.5 million turnover, failed in January 2013.
But three branches – in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire; and Cheam, Surrey – were taken on as Advantage Managed Services (AMS) agencies, run and owned by the existing staff under new trading names Adams Travel, Solent World Travel and Village Travel.
Wells shop: Miles better
The sixth shop, in Wells, Somerset, was bought by Miles Morgan Travel, and Morgan has since seen it become the top-performing agency in his 12-outlet chain.
The agency moved to a more central location in Wells but, crucially, retained its staff and customer base.
Morgan said: “The shop has gone from strength to strength. We have fantastic staff, a great location and have spent a lot of money on marketing.”
For manager Margaret Moulton the takeover secured her job and stopped her from exiting the trade.
“A year ago, the worry about losing my job meant I couldn’t sleep or eat, and was even considering working for a bank!” said Moulton. “Now I’m busier than ever and my customers are thrilled we’re still around.”
Cheam shop: Village life
David Smith, managing director of Village Travel in Cheam, bought the agency with three other staff and became a managed service branch of the Advantage consortium.“It was daunting but, ultimately, the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Smith. “Going back to being my own boss and us all owning it was a great opportunity.
“The collapse of Ambassador was a real bombshell. We knew we had lost our Iata licence, and that one or two cheques had bounced, but we were not prepared for it all to go pear-shaped.”
The last year has seen high and lows for Village Travel. Some months the staff have had to agree to take a reduced wage, and the agency has lost one major business travel client.
On the flip side, the agency became a Kuoni specialist agent, was agent of the month for USAirtours last April, and increased leisure sales. And overall, its sales are significantly up.
Smith added: “It’s been good from a client point of view because their money is held in a trust account and there is no risk. And we don’t have so much paperwork as Advantage pays the suppliers for us.”
Advantage: ‘Performing well’
David Moon, head of business development at AMS, said the success of the three branches taken on was testament to the hard work of their staff.
“It’s great to have been able to save three branches,” he said.
“And the good thing is all three shops are performing really well.
“They are either performing to their original budgets or exceeding them.”