Hays Travel acquires Miles Morgan Travel to add 19 new shops

North East independent holiday group Hays Travel has snapped up 19 new shops as part of a major acquisition.

The Sunderland based business has swooped for Miles Morgan Travel, a Chepstow based company with branches across the South West and South Wales. The company had been a member of Hays’ Independence Group consortium for 18 years.

Hays said it has no plans to rebrand the 19 Miles Morgan Travel branches – the first of which was opened by Miles Morgan in 2006 – and the move brings around 130 new staff members into the wider group.

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Company chair Dame Irene Hays said: “Miles Morgan is a legend in travel for a reason; he and his brilliant team have created an exceptional business that they can be very proud of. We will always be grateful to Miles, who as a member of our group’s board for many years has been instrumental in Hays Travel’s growth and success.

“We are all excited about this latest acquisition and look forward to welcoming the Miles Morgan Travel team to our Hays Travel family and learning from each other. Everyone at Hays Travel wishes Miles the very best success.”

Mr Morgan achieved a number of accolades for his well-known travel business, starting his career as a trainee at Pickfords Travel, moving on to become Thomson’s sales and marketing director and later launching his own company.

He said: “This has been a difficult decision and there is naturally an element of sadness that my travel journey has come to an end. The final part of that journey has been to find a suitable new owner for Miles Morgan Travel. Having worked for six years directly alongside the team at Hays Travel, I know them and importantly their culture and values, therefore cannot think of a better place for my business to go.

“It gives me great comfort that my team have found a good home with our partners for over 18 years. All jobs are safe, and the team now have more opportunities for career progression - there will be little disruption to day-to-day activity. I pay a huge tribute to Mandy Shillito, Carolyn Griffiths, and Zoe Stewart, the senior management team, and all the incredible staff who delivered the best year in our history yet again in the last financial year.

“I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to John and Irene Hays, John especially, for giving me pearls of wisdom in the early years of Miles Morgan Travel when so many businesses fail. That help will never be forgotten. So, for me now, it’s time to behave like my customers.”