The Co-operative Personal Travel Advisors (CPTA) has been renamed The Freedom Personal Travel Advisors following the ending of the joint venture between Thomas Cook and The Co-operative Group.

The new name, as well as a brand new look and feel for the homeworking businesses along with The Freedom Travel Group, came into effect on Sunday December 3 after an unveiling at the Freedom: The Next Chapter conference in Nottingham.

Kelly Cookes, head of Freedom and the homeworking division, told delegates: “While both businesses will retain their own identity and continue to be run separately, using the same branding gives us a number of synergies and helps businesses to move between the two.

“In the last year we have had three of our Personal Travel Advisors grow their businesses and move over into Freedom.

“We will move to an over-arching Freedom Travel Group logo with the Freedom consortia and Freedom Personal Travel Advisors sitting within this.”

Cookes said all of the company’s internal systems will be updated to reflect the changes and it will be providing graphics to use.

She continued: “Freedom is a well-known name in the travel industry but the end of the JV and the subsequent rebrand of the PTAs gives us an opportunity to make it a consumer-facing brand for the first time.

She revealed that the team has also been secretly working on a brand new website which is due to go live on Monday December 4 at www.freedomtravelgroup.co.uk

It will include special offers and campaigns and will also allow the user to search for their local PTA or Freedom member.

“We will be marketing this website to drive traffic to it,” said Cookes.

The company will also be launching a monthly marketing pack that will be available to all members, including posters and other point of sale materials.

The material will also be adapted to suit those not on the high street.

The first packs will be distributed in time for peaks and will be valid for January and February with a new campaign launching in March: “Freedom to”.