The Co-operative Travel

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The Co-operative movement’s travel activities began in 1905, when the Co-operative Wholesale Society opened an Excursion Department. Its purpose was to coordinate with railways, steamship operators and tour companies so that co-operative societies could obtain favorable terms for excursions. The department arranged its first overseas excursion in 1920 and published a holiday guide in the same period. By the 1950s, the CWS Travel Service had grown into one of the five largest travel agencies in Britain and was arranging air travel for co-operative societies and their members. The 2000 creation of The Co-operative Group through the merger of the Co-operative Wholesale Society and Co-operative Retail Services led to the travel operation being renamed Travelcare. In 2007, The Co-operative Group merged with United Co-operatives. The travel businesses of the two societies were brought together, combining the Manchester-based Travelcare operation with United Co-op’s Co-op Travel subsidiary. This established the basis for a larger Co-operative travel presence, although the later ownership model became more complex. In 2010, travel businesses associated with The Co-operative Group and Midlands Co-operative were selected for combination with Thomas Cook’s retail travel branches. The resulting company, TCCT Retail Limited, was structured as a joint venture in which Thomas Cook held 66.5%, The Co-operative Group held 30% and Central England Co-operative held 3.5%. Thomas Cook’s tour-operating division remained outside the transaction. The arrangement included retail branches and Future Travel Limited, a home-working business whose consultants traded as The Co-operative Personal Travel Advisors and provided booking services by telephone with extended hours. The transaction was examined by competition authorities. The Office of Fair Trading considered whether the deal should be referred for further review, and the matter proceeded through European and United Kingdom competition processes. In July 2011, the Competition Commission announced that it raised no objections. The joint venture subsequently operated travel agencies under the Co-operative and Thomas Cook identities, while also acting as an agent for licensed tour operators. During this period it was an ABTA member and held an ATOL licence. Its offer included package holidays, hotels, flights, cruises, city breaks, ski holidays, foreign exchange, travel insurance and travel-money products. The Co-operative Group later reconsidered its minority investment. In 2016 it stated that maintaining a minority stake in a travel business no longer fitted its strategy and exercised its exit option. Thomas Cook bought the shares held by The Co-operative Group and Central England Co-operative, becoming the sole owner of the joint retail network. The associated Co-operative Travel website closed in 2017, with existing bookings transferred to Thomas Cook. Shops that had been part of the joint venture were gradually rebranded as Thomas Cook during 2017 and 2018. This did not eliminate the Co-operative travel name altogether. Independent co-operatives continued to operate travel agencies using the Co-op brand. Central England Co-operative maintained separately managed branches, while Midcounties Co-operative became the largest current independent operator using the Co-op Travel identity. Midcounties operates online and through physical travel outlets from Walsall. The modern Your Co-op Travel brand is therefore best understood as a continuing co-operative retail travel brand rather than as the same corporate business as the former Thomas Cook joint venture. Its historical identity is shared across participating co-operatives, while day-to-day ownership and management depend on the particular society operating the service.

1. 2018Former joint-venture network completes progressive rebranding

   The Thomas Cook rebranding of affected high-street travel stores continues through 2017–18, while independent co-operatives retain the Co-op Travel name.

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2. 2017Joint-venture website closes

   The TCCT-associated website closes and outstanding bookings are transferred to Thomas Cook.

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3. 2017Rebranding of former joint-venture branches begins

   Branches formerly operating under the Co-operative Travel name within the Thomas Cook network begin conversion to the Thomas Cook brand.

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4. 2016Thomas Cook takes full control

   Thomas Cook buys the Co-operative shareholders’ interests in the joint venture after The Co-operative Group decides to exit.

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5. 2011Joint venture receives competition clearance

   The Competition Commission announces that it has no objections to the proposed travel-retail merger.

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6. 2010Thomas Cook joint venture announced

   Co-operative travel retail businesses are combined with Thomas Cook’s retail travel branches in a majority-Thomas Cook joint venture.

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7. 2007Co-operative travel operations integrated

   The merger of The Co-operative Group and United Co-operatives brings together Travelcare and United Co-op’s Co-op Travel subsidiary.

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8. 2000Travelcare name adopted

   After the formation of The Co-operative Group, CWS Travel becomes known as Travelcare.

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9. 1950CWS Travel Service becomes a major British agency

   By the 1950s, the CWS Travel Service is described as one of Britain’s five largest travel agencies and has expanded into air-travel arrangements.

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10. 1920First overseas excursion and holiday guide

    The CWS travel operation arranges its first overseas excursion and publishes its first holiday guide.

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11. 1905CWS opens an Excursion Department

    The Co-operative Wholesale Society establishes a department to arrange excursions and negotiate travel rates with transport and tourism providers.

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A member-oriented, service-led travel agency drawing on the heritage and ethical identity of the co-operative movement, with booking support available through digital channels and physical branches.

• Package holidaysHoliday packages

  The travel agency arranges package holidays combining transport, accommodation and related holiday services through licensed tour operators. During the historical Thomas Cook joint-venture period, flight-inclusive bookings were protected through the ATOL scheme.

• Flights and hotelsTravel bookings

  Customers can obtain assistance with flight and accommodation bookings, including standalone hotel reservations and travel arrangements made through high-street, telephone or online channels.

• Cruises and ski holidaysSpecialist holidays

  The historical Co-operative Travel offer included cruise holidays and skiing trips alongside mainstream package holidays and city breaks, extending the agency’s range into specialist leisure travel.

• Foreign exchange and travel moneyTravel money

  Foreign-exchange services were part of the brand’s historical offer. The Co-operative Travel Cash Passport was issued by Travelex, and the agency also handled related travel-money services.

• Travel insuranceTravel protection

  Travel insurance was offered as an ancillary service. In the historical joint-venture arrangement, policies were underwritten by White Horse Insurance Ireland.

• 2016The Co-operative Group exits the travel joint ventureStrategy

  The Co-operative Group determined that retaining a minority investment in the travel business no longer matched its strategic priorities.

  What changed. The Co-operative Group exercised its option to leave, and Thomas Cook acquired the interests held by The Co-operative Group and Central England Co-operative.

  Aftermath. Thomas Cook took full control of the joint retail network and progressively replaced the Co-operative branding with Thomas Cook branding. Independent co-operatives continued to use the Co-op Travel identity separately.

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• 2010Combine Co-operative and Thomas Cook travel retail operationsM&A

  The Co-operative travel businesses sought to combine their retail branch networks with Thomas Cook’s retail travel agencies while leaving Thomas Cook’s tour-operating division outside the transaction.

  What changed. A joint venture, TCCT Retail Limited, was established with Thomas Cook holding 66.5%, The Co-operative Group 30% and Central England Co-operative 3.5%.

  Aftermath. The venture operated under the two groups’ retail identities after competition authorities raised no objections in 2011.

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• 2018Former Co-operative Travel branches rebranded as Thomas Cook

  Branches that had operated under the Co-operative name within the Thomas Cook joint venture were progressively rebranded under the Thomas Cook identity during 2017–18.

  Other
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• 2017Co-operative Travel website closes and bookings transfer to Thomas Cook

  The website associated with the Thomas Cook joint venture closed, while existing bookings were transferred to Thomas Cook as the retail network moved away from the Co-operative identity.

  Other
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• 2016Thomas Cook buys out Co-operative shareholders in travel retail venture

  Thomas Cook completed the acquisition of the stakes held by The Co-operative Group and Central England Co-operative, taking full control of the joint retail travel network.

  M&A
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• 2011Competition Commission clears Co-operative and Thomas Cook travel joint venture

  Following competition review, the Competition Commission announced that it had no objections to the transaction combining relevant Co-operative travel retail operations with Thomas Cook’s retail travel branches.

  RegulationM&A
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1. The Co-operative Travel
2. Your Co-op Travel