Wales’ largest independent travel agency business, Travel House, has been acquired by Hays Travel.
The business, which forms part of investment company Swansea.com, whose interests range from hotels to business parks, as well as holding a small equity stake in Swansea City FC, has 16 branches across South Wales. The exact value of the multi-million-pound has not been disclosed.
Travel House was originally set up by Swansea-based serial entrepreneur Martin Morgan in 1992, before being sold to Tui (then Thomson) in 1999. Mr Morgan subsequently reacquired the business in 2004.
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Mr Morgan and Swansea.com will use the proceeds from the sale to reinvest back into Swansea with a new wave of business investments. This will see the group’s existing Morgans Hotel Ltd business, which operates the Morgans and nearly Georgian hotels in the city centre, being expanded to a 71 bedroom operation by year end. The long-term aim, utilising the properties Swansea.com already owns around the hotels, is to increase the portfolio to more than 150 bedrooms.
Mr Morgan, a director of Swansea City, established the hotel business from the proceeds generated from the initial sale of Travel House to Thomson. While Travel House and the wider travel sector was severely impacted by the pandemic, it has recovered strongly and now generates a weekly turnover of around £1m from its retail and foreign exchange offer. It is no stranger to Hays Travel having become a member of Hays’ Independence Group (IG) in 2021.
Hays Travel, which is one of the 海角视频’s biggest travel agents, was set up 30 years ago by its founders Dame Irene Hays and her late husband John. Its acquisition of Travel House takes its retail network to 476. It has committed to maintaining all Travel House staff following the acquisition. The business employs just under 70.
Managing director of Swansea.com, Jacob Hughes, said: “Stepping away from travel has not been an easy decision, but the time is right to focus on the other areas of our business and continue our investment in new projects in the city of Swansea and beyond.”
Mr Morgan said: My travel agency dream started 31 years ago, opening a branch in Brynhyfryd situated halfway between the two schools I attended as a child. We worked tirelessly opening late, and on Sundays, and in 1999 we sold to Thomson Holidays. In 2004, I repurchased Travel House from TUI and continued the dream. I would like to thank Christine Major, Leanne Williams, and all our staff who have played a pivotal role in Travel House success.
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“We joined Hays Independence Group in 2021 after weathering the storm of Covid, that cost our industry millions. We have now reached a place where we have taken Travel House as far as we can. With myself turning 61, moving to Spain, and getting married next year, now is the time for Travel House to expand and thrive even further under the guardianship of Hays and Dame Irene, who I have known for almost 30 years and can trust implicitly to take Travel House to its limits.”
Dame Irene said: “Martin is a brilliant entrepreneur who has developed an excellent travel business in South Wales. We were delighted when he joined our independence group in 2021 and our in-house team have enjoyed working with him to further develop the business. When Martin explained his plans, we were honoured to step in and have given him and his excellent team our assurances that their jobs are safe, and they will be welcomed into our Hays Travel family.
“We are very pleased with this latest acquisition, which further supports our strategic priorities. We wish Martin and Jacob every success with their future plans.”