Vertical Group’s homeworking agency Your Holiday Booking has given notice of its intention to leave Thomas Cook-owned Freedom Travel Group to join The Midcounties Co-operative.
The move, which is expected to be completed this year, was communicated to Your Holiday Booking’s 48 homeworkers in the past week.
It represents a strengthening of ties between the companies, which announced a joint venture in June, creating Co-op Rooms and in-house tour operation Co-op Holidays.
Peter Healey, the owner of Vertical, which will continue to supply technology to Freedom, said the switch opened up opportunities including entering overseas markets.
Healey and Vertical will be reunited with former partners from The Co-operative Travel including Midcounties group general manager Alistair Rowland.
Healey said: “We are moving for practical reasons to do with my relationship with the Co-op and my past success with the Co-op.
It has been a strong partner for me.
“I’ve been happy with the work of Kelly [Cookes, head of Freedom and The Co-operative Personal Travel Advisors] and this is not out of any sense of negativity with Freedom.
“It gives us more flexibility about how we sell our stock, internationalising our processes and dealing with more overseas clients.”
With a turnover of about £25 million, Your Holiday Booking will become Midcounties’ largest consortium member.
Rowland said: “Peter’s business is one of the UK’s most mature and well-run homeworking businesses.”
Cookes said: “We part on amicable terms. We continue to grow as a business and our focus will be to support our members with any product they want to sell.”