Auria Travel to relocate to bigger shop a year after business launched

Leicestershire agency Auria Travel is set to move its first shop to larger premises, a year after the business launched, amid wider expansion plans.

The agency, founded in May last year, opened the doors to its shop in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in September and recently switched to the Advantage Travel Partnership’ AMS membership model from Protected Trust Services (PTS). 

Founder Markus Kendall-Young told Travel Weekly the agency aims to reach three shops by the end of 2028 and hopes to expand to six in the next five years.

He said the new shop was not only a bigger space but “in a better position” on the high street and was currently undergoing renovations ahead of its scheduled opening later this month.

“We have exceeded our business targets by 100% already in the first three months of the year,” he said.

“We still think a lot of the customers in the town are not aware of our location yet, so positioning ourselves more centrally with the new store in the middle of the main shopping street will just improve our business even more.”

He added the new shop can accommodate more brochure displays and zoned areas to support the plans to grow the cruise part of the business.

The aim is for five staff to work at the new location at 27 Market Street, which is about 100 yards from the original location.

Kendall-Young said he was also looking at an opportunity that had come up to open a second shop in another town in the East Midlands which was in the early stages of negotiations.

Alongside its retail network, Auria Travel plans to expand its homeworker division to 20 by this September and 50 by September 2027.

The division is currently made up of 10 homeworking agents led by business development manager Daniel Symons who was hired at the end of March from Rocky Mountaineer.