Jeff Ford-Foyne has been a children’s entertainer for nearly three decades, but it was while working as a taxi driver he started thinking about opening a travel agency in the Flintshire town of Shotton.
He is one of four directors of Dee Travel, the others being his wife Stefanie and their friends Debbie and Allen Owen – who is currently refurbishing the shop with a view to opening in August.
Ford-Foyne told TTG he has already confirmed the agency’s branding, business cards and letter heads, and is currently finalising Dee’s uniforms. “I’ve wanted to sell travel for a long time, probably since I started doing transfers to and from Manchester airport about three years,” he explained.
“I’m hungry for it. I kept thinking, ‘there must be some good money to be made in this’. I’ve got the gift of the gab.”
The team behind Dee Travel, which is already trading online, have also taken over a greetings card shop across the road from the proposed travel agency branch. Each director holds an equal share in the two shops.
Ford-Foyce said Shotton Cards used to operate as Owen’s Travel around 15 years ago – the last time the town had an agency. “I originally wanted to check out the card shop because I knew it was up for grabs,” he explained.
“Debbie and Allen have taken over the running of the card shop – and now suddenly the card shop is making money. Shotton was going downhill, but we’ve just had a Post Office and a Lidl open."
Ford-Foyne said Dee Travel will primarily sell packages using Protected Trust Services’ Atol. “Word is travelling fast,” he said. “[Three-branch agency] Buckley Travel have sent a nice message, and people in Llandudno – around a 45-minute drive away – are aware a new travel agency is opening up in Shotton.
"We’ve known Debbie and Allen for 10 years since we moved to the area. We’ve done quite a lot with them – myself, Debbie and Allen were all school governors.”
Ford-Foyne is in the process of hiring two staff – one of whom will run the Dee Travel shop on behalf of the four directors. “They’ve not handed in their notices yet so I can’t say who they are. One has five years’ travel experience, while the other has 16 years and is going to manage the shop.
"She’s currently working for a hotel, but she’s missing travel so much she wants to come back. I’ve known her for donkey’s years and she offered to run the shop.”
When asked about the business dynamic given the two staff have travel experience while the directors don’t, Ford-Foyne responded: “We’re going to be paying their wages. We’ve invested quite a bit of money, probably £60,000 to £70,000, doing the shop up.
“Having some experience in the shop means it can thrive straight away.”
