Michael Fox will manage the new branch, which was officially opened on Tuesday (21 May) in the presence of mayor of Sutton Colin Stears.

“It was brilliant to welcome the mayor and other guests to our official opening,” said Fox, who worked as a chef for 13 years before joining Tui in the early 2000s as a holiday rep. “Everyone enjoyed cake and entered our prize draw to win a £200 Hays Travel voucher or a Royal Caribbean goodie bag.”

During the ceremony, the mayor was tasked with judging drawings local schoolchildren, who were tasked with coming up with a design for a new MSC Cruises ship – with the winner taking home a Lego MSC ship.

"The mayor accepted the difficult task of choosing a winner from the brilliantly creative drawings submitted by children from Barrow Hedges Primary School – rather him than me," added Fox.

Fox said cruise and long-haul performing well thanks to his team of five’s "extensive" product knowledge. "Karen and Holly were based at the old Thomas Cook branch in Sutton," he continued.

"Mandy joined from Virgin and has travelled extensively, Ranju is excellent in the foreign exchange bureau, and Sophie joined us in April from the National Portrait Gallery – she has excellent customer service skills and recently completed her ‘new to travel’ training so is raring to go. We all are."

The team are also gearing up to make their national TV bow after the shop was chosen as the location for Hays Travel’s new TV ad.

"A full crew and cast of 25 descended on us in April to film the advert," said Fox. "It was a brilliant experience and we all loved being involved, we can’t wait to see the results."

Hays retail director Jane Schumm added: “We’re all delighted with how well our new branch in Sutton is performing already. We were looking for the right opportunity in the area and jumped at this location when it came up. 

“It’s a gorgeous branch and Michael and the team are excellent – between them, they have so much travel knowledge and experience.”

Fox entered the kitchen straight after school, a career which saw him work in hotels and large chalets in Austria before "drifting into travel" with Tui. He went on to spend several years with Kuoni, getting to know destinations including the Maldives, Switzerland and Mexico. To date, he’s lived in 13 countries.

"After being a chef I drifted into travel and loved it – what other sector would give me the opportunity to live in all the countries I have?" he said. "I’ve met so many people who pop up in new roles, [so] it’s great to meet up with former colleagues and learn what they are up to now – travel is very social."