Hays Travel expands with Spear Travels Group deal

A national holiday firm has expanded with a takeover.

Hays Travel has bought Spear Travels Group.

The Sunderland-headquartered company has hailed the move as an “excellent fit” in its wider growth blueprint.

Under the terms of the deal, Hays Travel – recently named in the top 30 companies in NET 250 – has taken on Spear Travels’ 12-strong UK store portfolio and homeworker network.

Bosses say the bases, which include sites in Skipton, Stoke-on-Trent and Upminster, and include the Broads Travel and Regent Travel divisions, will remain under the Spear Travels brand.

They add no jobs have been affected by the takeover, promising “little disruption to day-to-day activity”.

Dame Irene Hays, co-founder and chair of Hays Travel, said: “Spear Travels is an excellent fit for us; its product mix aligns with our core objectives, and we have much to learn from each other.”

Dame Irene also paid tribute to Spear Travels’ bosses Peter and Libby Cookson and Derek Adams, for their work in building “excellent and trusted brands”.

She added: “I have enormous respect for Peter, Libby and Derek.

“They have a loyal and growing customer base, cared for by great people with exceptional expertise and experience, who we are delighted to welcome into Hays Travel.”

Peter, Spear Travels’ former managing director, said: “Selling the business that Libby, Derek and I have worked so hard to build over the past 30 years is a difficult decision. 

“However, we are comforted knowing our team has found a new work family in Hays Travel. 

“All jobs are safe, and the team now have more opportunities for development and career progression - there will be little disruption to day-to-day activity.” 

Spear Travels’ store portfolio includes further bases in Northallerton and Stokesley, in North Yorkshire; Thame, in Oxfordshire; and Wolverhampton.

The takeover comes a year after Hays Travel bought South West England and Wales-based Miles Morgan Travel.

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