An agent who used to count the late Victoria Wood as a regular customer and another who has worked overseas for the Foreign Office have teamed up to create the newest Hays Travel Independence Group member.
Lewis Miller (pictured, left) and Andy Holbrook (pictured, right) met as franchisees for Explorer Travel which was acquired by the Hays group in 2021, and have just set up a new business, WorldLuxe Travel, part of Hays Independence.
They will retain their individual agency names, working under the WorldLuxe Travel umbrella brand rather than Explorer, and plan to invite other franchisees to join in the future.
Andy worked at Trailfinders in High Street Kensington, London, before joining the Foreign Office in 2002, where he spent 14 years, including postings in the Cayman Islands and Berne, then becoming Deputy Head of the Caribbean Team in London.
He set up as an Explorer franchisee in December 2015, under the business name AH Escapes, based in Ashtead, Surrey.
Lewis began his travel career as a YTS apprentice at Highgate Travel, London, where comedian Victoria Wood was a customer, regularly coming in to book a first-class train ticket to Lancaster.
He started Your Great Adventures in October 2019. He currently operates from an office in Coggleshall, Essex and has plans to open a branch.
Lewis said: “This move allows us to grow our businesses in ways that we were restricted to do under Explorer Travel. Being part of Hays Independence Group allows us the opportunities to expand.
“Joining the Hays Independence Group was the obvious next step for us both to enhance our respective businesses and for me to personally open a retail store locally.”
Andy said: “I’m looking forward to the future and the opportunity that being part of the Independence Group will bring as Lewis and I look to grow the WorldLuxe Travel Brand.”
Hays Independence Group Head Harriet Thompson said: “It’s very satisfying to see our Explorer franchisee members scale up their business and move to the next level and we look forward to working in partnership with them in this next phase – providing the support and advice they need to make a great success of WorldLuxe Travel.”
Hays Chair Dame Irene Hays said: “Stimulating business growth and profitability by working in partnership with our members is at the heart of our Independence Group. That has not changed since John and I established it 30 years ago.
“Since then, many of our members have become friends, and more than a few have become millionaires. Our approach remains the same today, but now we have the experience of our whole group to turn to for advice, a behind-the-scenes operation to support our members to thrive, coupled with sharing some of the best commercial arrangements in the industry.”
