Counsellor is first to sell own firm
Travel Counsellors’ Karen Whatsize has made company history by becoming the first agent to sell her business.Leicester-based Whatsize, who joined the home-based agency company in 1998, has sold her franchise to fellow travel counsellor Helen Whittam for a “five-figure sum”, after deciding to retire to France.
The sale is the first since the company introduced a franchise scheme in 2006.
Whittam, from Preston, has taken on Whatsize’s 230 regular clients, and has already had bookings after Whatsize sent a farewell
letter introducing her.
She said: “I wanted my clients to be reassured that Helen was the person they would want to continue booking their holidays with.
“We didn’t know each other before, but Travel Counsellors made the introduction and I could tell from my first chat with Helen that she had lots of experience in tailor-made long-haul and cruise, which made up a lot of my business.”
Whittam said she aimed to make it to Gold travel counsellor status, as Whatsize had.
“I’ve already taken two flight bookings, an enquiry for a cruise and stay in Miami, a ski trip, a Malta wedding, plus an Australia and New Zealand trip which could be worth £15,000, so I am on my way!”
Travel Counsellors introduced its franchise agreement to clarify its consultants’ self-employed status and to enable franchisees to take on their own staff and develop their business should they wish to sell it on.
Managing director Steve Byrne said: “If you have been a travel counsellor for a number of years and have been successful, you will have a database of great customers that you can sell on, rather than just close it when you want to retire or move on.”
Byrne said Whatsize’s franchise sale was the first of a handful of businesses about to change hands. The scheme will operate initially between existing travel counsellors, but could be extended to people from other companies or markets.