Beverley Travel co-owner Karl Douglas told TTG the town of Driffield wasn't on the agency's radar before the Travel Network Group member closed its doors in August citing losses "that were incredibly difficult to recover" from.
However, Douglas confirmed he and fellow co-director Kelly Cheesman were now actively seeking the right premises in Driffield, which is about 15 miles north of Beverley, after hiring Natalie Cood and Royston Potter.
A few days after the Ashley Adams news broke, Douglas contacted Codd to arrange an interview. The pair had previously met on a Wendy Wu Tours fam trip to Jordan last year.
Recalling the "awful" period, Codd said: "Royston and I obviously had no idea it was going to happen. I was away with my daughter in Scotland on our summer holiday when we heard the news. I was unsure where I was going to go for around four days."
She added: "Royston was with Ashley Adams for around 10 years after leaving school at 16. I was with Ashley Adams for two years. Before that I was a receptionist at veterinary practice in Driffield."
With Codd unsure where to find work and unable to take a self-employed role due to her mortgage conditions, she considered returning to the veterinary practice where she worked before.
"When I was made redundant, I wasn't sure travel was where I wanted to be – I did actually reach out to my previous job," she continued. "However, I cannot be self-employed because of my mortgage. I'm a single parent so I need that stability. I was without an income for a matter of days."
Douglas added: "We never want to lose anyone from the industry with that kind of experience. We've taken on two of their team, and we're now looking at opening a branch in Driffield. We hope to open before Christmas.
"The kind of properties that we're looking at don't come up for rent very often. We will open as soon as we find one."
Once Beverley Travel opens its fourth shop in Driffield, with Potter and Codd set to work in the branch, Douglas hopes to add another two members of staff to the agency's workforce.
"We will look to recruit once we're up and running," he said. "I hope it will become a branch with four staff, but it depends on turnover and how it performs. We would look to build it into a four-person branch."
'Huge' Latin Routes booking secured
Since starting on 15 September, Potter and Codd have both made bookings while working in the agency's Beverley shop. Potter recently landed a "huge" Latin Routes booking that had taken a couple of weeks to confirm.
"Royston and I have settled in really well," said Codd. "We've both made bookings. I've made some run-of-the-mill bookings like late Jet2holidays breaks. Royston has just made a huge Latin Routes booking for South America. The whole team chipped in. They've been so welcoming."
Douglas also revealed Beverley Travel is looking to attract investment from private backers to fund the initial opening costs, recruitment and staff training.
He confirmed he and Cheesman are open to awarding stakes in the company to investors in exchange for funding or creating a non-executive role for "someone with deep industry knowledge" to fill.
Reflecting on the UK travel retail landscape, Douglas said: "I think we'll see a lot of agencies either close down or the owners retire. Hays Travel will keep on acquiring everybody.
"There's also a lot of homeworkers moving onto the high street. We will see more of that because of the soaring costs of online advertising. Customers want to discuss their holiday plans with a real person."
