Former Midcounties head of retail to join Spear Travels Group

Former Midcounties Co-operative Travel head of retail branches Natalie Turner is to join The Spear Travels Group at the end of this month.

Turner will take up the new role of head of retail operations at Spear, working with Juile Kendrick, former Midcounties Co-operative Travel head of commercial and marketing at the retail chain. Kendrick joined Spear in January 2020 as head of commercial and marketing.

The pair are tasked with managing and growing The Spear Travels Group’s retail network of 11 shops and nine homeworkers.

The move will also allow group managing director Peter Cookson to take more of a back seat at the company.

Cookson said: “We look forward to Natalie joining the company and bringing her wealth of retail experience in travel with her. Natalie and Julie worked closely together at Midcounties previously, both holding senior leadership roles.

“I am 70 next year and I felt that it was time I stepped back as much as possible, but I will remain as managing director for now.

“To be able to hand over day-to-day operations to such a great team fills me full of confidence at a time when the market has picked up and we have seen some all-time record months.”

He added: “We now have a clear path for growth with our enhanced management team that will enable us to capitalise on what is already an exceedingly strong market position for us.”

The group has also announced that Janet Byng, financial director of The Spear Travels Group, has become a shareholder in the company. Byng has been with the company for more than 12 years and was appointed to the board in 2013.

Cookson said she had been “an integral part of the success of the company” to date.