Go Ben Travel to open second shop

Go Ben Travel is set to open a second shop after owner Ben Hughes “fell in love” with the location.

 

Hughes, who opened his first store in Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan, in September 2017, plans to welcome customers to a new branch in July.

 

He decided to expand into Culcheth, northeast of Warrington, after being impressed during a visit to the village.

 

“It’s a really good area. I fell in love with it,” he said. “I first came across the unit at the end of April and it was crying out to be mine.”

 

The agency’s marketing efforts will be boosted by a £10,000 pot of funding from Jet2holidays after success in the tour operator’s inaugural ‘Scale Up Your Street’ competition, which took place in Leeds on Wednesday (June 11).

 

“I was not expecting it,” said Hughes, when asked how he felt about succeeding in the Dragons’ Den-style competition. “I came out of the room thinking, ‘Did that just happen?’”

 

He said the new branch would have a large catchment area and would benefit from an absence of rival agencies.

 

He hopes to recruit two more staff members to bolster the existing six-strong team, which includes apprentices.

 

The new shop is viewed as likely to attract a different range of customers compared with the original branch.

 

“It will definitely have a different demographic. There’s going to be a lot more luxury [interest] in the area,” Hughes said.

 

He added the funding would be spent on items including signage, window displays and personalised wallpaper.

 

“I’ll be marketing the hell out of it,” he said.