Travel Village Group to join Brilliant Travel from Co-operative Travel Consortium

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Travel Village Group is to join Brilliant Travel in what will be the consortium’s largest managed partner agreement to date.

The Blackpool-based company, which operates Travel Village, Holiday Village, Southampton Cruise Centre and RiverCruising.co.uk, has been a member of Co-operative Travel Consortium for more than 10 years.

It will complete its switch to Brilliant Travel, a division of Barrhead Travel, in November.

Phil Nuttall, chief executive of Travel Village Group, said the partnership marks a “really exciting milestone and an important next step for the business” as he explained the “time is right” to make the switch.

“For a business of our size, migrating to new tech systems – which the Co-operative [Travel Consortium] is doing – is quite hard and we can’t put our people through that at this current time,” he said.

Nuttall said the company has had a “positive relationship” with the Co-operative Travel Consortium and is “grateful for the support we have received” as he stressed the switch is “not about changing who we are” but instead about “strengthening what we already do well”.

He added: “We are proud of our history, proud of our people and incredibly excited about what this partnership will help us build next. This is another step in that journey; this is how we make our business brilliant.”

L-R: Jacqueline Dobson, Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, Phil Nuttall, Paula Nuttall, Linda Pyle, Julie Taylor

Paula Nuttall, managing director of The Holiday Village, said the company’s business owners were “at the heart of this decision” as the move will give them “more flexibility to be able to secure more bookings with more choice and control”.

“We want them [the company’s business owners] to feel supported, confident and excited about the future,” she added. “We have listened to them and this move ticks all the boxes that will allow them to compete, grow and deliver even more for their customers.”

Barrhead Travel said Brilliant Travel supports “ambitious, independently operated travel businesses” through its managed partner model, which “provides access to scale, commercial strength, technology and central support” while allowing partners to “retain their individual brand identity and customer focus”.

Nicki Tempest‑Mitchell, managing director of Barrhead Travel Group, said the company is “delighted” to welcome Travel Village Group, which will take Brilliant Travel to nearly 100 members.

“I’ve known Phil and Paula for many years and have always admired their family ethos and values. This partnership feels like a very natural fit,” she added.

A spokesperson for Co-op Travel said: “Travel Village has been part of our consortium since 2014, and while we’re sad to see Phil and the team go, we look forward to continuing to work closely with them for the remainder of their time with us and wish them every success for the future.”

They added: “Having recently become part of the OurCoop family of businesses, the largest independent co-operative in the UK, we’re excited about the opportunities for our consortium members now and in the future. Our consortium members are a valued part of our travel business and we continue to work closely with them to support the growth of their businesses.

“As part of this, we have been holding round tables across the country to continue to deepen the collaboration with our members and discussing how to drive future growth together, particularly given the challenges we are all currently facing.”