Hays Travel has acquired The Spear Travels Group for an undisclosed sum.
The Sunderland-based agency chain will take over Spear Travels’ 12 branches and its homeworker network.
Announcing the acquisition, Dame Irene Hays praised the group’s directors Peter and Libby Cookson and Derek Adams, citing their expertise and experience, as well as their staff, as a “key factor” in the deal. All three directors have left as part of the deal.
She said: “Spear Travels is an excellent fit for us – their product mix of land, cruise, and touring holidays aligns with our core objectives, and we have much to learn from each other.
More: Hays Travel acquires 19-branch Miles Morgan Travel [May 24]
Spear Travels eyes further expansion after buying Regent Travel [June 23]
Hays Travel acquires Tailor Made Travel [Sept 20]
“I have enormous respect for Peter, Libby and Derek. They have built excellent, trusted brands in Spear Travels, Broads Travel, and Regent Travel.
“They have a loyal and growing customer base, cared for by great people with exceptional expertise and experience, who we are delighted to welcome into the Hays Travel family. I wish Peter, Libby, and Derek every happiness and success with the next chapter of their journey.”
Hays Travel said it has no plans to rebrand the 12 shops, the majority of which are located in areas where there are no Hays Travel branches. Spear has around 70 staff, all of whom will now join Hays Travel.
Cookson, former managing director of Spear Travels, said: “Naturally selling the business that Libby, Derek and I have worked so hard to build over the past 30 years is a difficult decision.
“However, we are comforted knowing that our team has found a new work family in Hays Travel. All jobs are safe, and the team now have more opportunities for development and career progression – there will be little disruption to day-to-day activity.”
Spear Travels, which also trades under the Broads Travel and Regent Travel brands, was launched in 1983 with the first branch opening in Upminster, before a second followed 13 years later, in Stoke-on-Trent.
That same year, the agency went on to launch another store in Boroughbridge and since then has continued to expand, at one point reaching 13 stores.
It now has 12 branches, spanning from Middlesbrough in Teesside to Blandford Forum in Dorset, and 10 homeworkers, which it calls associates, plus a business travel centre.
Spear Travels bought its 12th shop, one-branch agency Regent Travel in Staffordshire, in 2023, after which Cookson said it was “great to be back on the acquisition trail” after the “difficult Covid years”.
In 2024 it took over the forward bookings and database of Strachan Travel in Thornton Cleveleys, near Blackpool.
This is Hays Travel’s first acquisition of its new financial year, which began on May 1, 2025.
In the last two years, Hays Travel has acquired Just Go Travel, Travel House and Miles Morgan Travel, as well as adding five stores to its retail network.
More: Hays Travel acquires 19-branch Miles Morgan Travel [May 24]
Spear Travels eyes further expansion after buying Regent Travel [June 23]
Hays Travel acquires Tailor Made Travel [Sept 20]
