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Bigger premises to fuel If Only’s expansion plans

If Only intends to move to larger premises in Glasgow with room for an additional 30 staff, as it plans to “significantly increase” the number of passengers it is licensed to carry.

The luxury operator is consulting staff over the proposed move, which would involve its head office moving from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, to the city centre by the end of the year.

Chief executive Andy Freeth said the business had recruited 14 additional staff since he joined three months ago, and planned to expand the team from 80 to 110 over the next five years.

“We want to be more central and have a bigger space we can move into. The reservations and marketing teams are running out of room,” he said.

“We are proposing a move and consulting with staff on the viability of a new office.”

The operator is licensed to carry 8,500 passengers up until September, but Freeth said: “We’re currently going through the Atol process and looking to increase [our licence] significantly from October onwards and next year.”

He said from April to June, bookings were 40% up on last year, while call-handling times had improved by 15%.

Freeth, along with Gordon McCreadie, Tracy Docherty and David Irving, joined If Only in April after they all left rival operators Travel 2 and Gold Medal last June.

If Only launched programmes to the Caribbean and the US this year, and plans to add South America and South Africa in the first half of 2019.

The operator is also in talks with five luxury lines to launch a dedicated cruise programme in November, in time for the peaks.

Freeth said the company was “very close” to being able to email quotes to agents, something the trade had been “crying out for”. A bookable website is under development.

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