THE opening date of the new, flagship Barrhead Travel store at Barons Quay has been announced.

In December last year, the Guardian revealed that the travel agent would be making the move into a currently vacant unit next to Card Factory.

This has now been confirmed by Barrhead, with the Northwich store opening its doors on Friday, April 10.

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and branded experience areas, the new travel agency will also house the travel company’s first training facility outside of Scotland.

And the new store will be staffed by former Thomas Cook employees from the now-collapsed firm’s Northwich and Chester branches, who have over 100 years of travel industry experience between them.

“We're so excited to showcase our new state-of-the-art store in Barons Quay,” said store manager Sean Buckley on behalf of his team.

“Having the ability to create truly bespoke holidays for our customers will bring something completely new to Northwich and our customers are going to love the concept.”

Northwich Guardian:

Store manager Sean Buckley and the Barrhead Travel Northwich team

Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel added: “I am thrilled to welcome Northwich to the Barrhead Travel family.

“The opening of the store reflects our unwavering commitment to the high street travel agency.

“Investment in bricks and mortar has been at the heart of our strategy since we opened our first store in 1975, and we will continue to place focus on the physical customer journey by combining experiential technology and genuine expertise from our local teams.

“We firmly believe that the demand for an experienced and knowledgeable travel agent is still on the rise, as holidaymakers seek first-hand sound advice and guaranteed financial protection for their well-earned getaways.”

Founded in 1975, the Scottish-headquartered travel company has over 76 branches across the UK, specialising in all types of holiday including cruises, long haul, touring, city breaks, honeymoons and beach escapes.

The agency confirmed its expansion plans last year in the wake of the Thomas Cook collapse, and it plans to open up to 100 new stores, the first 20 of which are expected to open by the end of March.