Kingdom Shopping Centre

Barrhead Travel, Scotland's largest independent travel group, has opened a new store in the Kingdom Centre in Glenrothes, under a franchise agreement with B&E Travel Ltd. The new branch will be owned and operated by local travel agents Elaine Murray and Barry Hancock, and will be staffed by a team of six. The pair of friends have many years' experience in the travel business, and have worked for a number of well-known travel companies in the past. Elaine said: "Barry and I talked for years about how we could do things differently - and better - if we ran our own travel agency, but it was always just a dream. Recently we started looking into it in more detail, and Barrhead Travel stood out from the rest of the travel industry in so many ways. They're an independent agency, which means that we can give customers the holiday that best suits their needs, rather than having the company dictate to us who we can and can't sell." Barry stressed that customer service was their main priority. He said, "Elaine and I knew what we wanted to do - operate our own agency where we could tailor make holidays to suit the client, rather than expect an off-the-shelf product to be suitable. We'll be the only independent agency in Glenrothes, and that means our customers will have much more choice than they've been used to." The Barrhead Travel franchise store in Glenrothes holding a prize draw for £100 of holiday vouchers for all customers who book a holiday with the outlet before December 24th. Chief Executive of Barrhead travel, Sharon Munro, said: "We are delighted to support Elaine and Barry in their new venture and are optimistic that this will be one of many more new franchise opportunities across the UK. "We already have several franchise outlets across Scotland and beyond - local operations with a vested interest in the people and community they serve. "The Glenrothes store will be staffed by people living in and around the town and, supported by Barrhead Travel's extensive network of operators, tourism contacts, its technology and its strong brand reputation, I have no doubt the store will prove a huge success. "I wish Barry and Elaine all the very best with the new store and look forward to a long and successful working relationship with them." Further details on Barrhead Travel franchise opportunities can be found at www.barrheadtravel.co.uk or by visiting your nearest branch.