A Grantham travel agency is to continue under new owners.

Carrick Travel, based at 14 Guildhall Street, has been taken over by Nottingham-based Midcounties Co-operative.

The deal, which also includes others in the Carrick Travel chain, will see the travel agency continue trading as Carrick Travel, but operating under the Co-operative Travel Group.

Grantham already has a Co-op travel agency, run by Lincolnshire Co-op, at 57 High Street.

The take-over will see 29 staff employed at 7 Carrick Travel branches kept on, but the Carrick Travel owners Tina Nason and Tracey Carter are not transferring across to Co-operative Travel.

Rad Sofronijevic, Chief Operating Officer of Co-operative Travel, said: "Despite the challenges of Covid-19, Travel remains core to Midcounties' long-term strategy. The transfer of Carrick Travel gives us the opportunity to grow the Co-operative Travel operations for the benefit of our members, with shops that are located in the heart of their communities and to serve an additional customer base that complements our own.

"We look forward to nurturing and supporting the former Carrick Travel branches and their staff. Their welcome addition will strengthen the position of Midcounties Co-operative's Travel division for the future".

Eight-time winner of Travel Weekly's "Agent Achievement Award for Central England - Small Agency", Carrick Travel's shops supported 10,000 customers with their travel arrangements over the last 12 months. Tina Nason and Tracey Carter, owners of Carrick Travel, said: "It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to Carrick Travel. However, we are incredibly happy that the journeys of our valued customers and many of our talented colleagues will continue under Co-operative Travel. "The protection of our staff and clients has always been our highest priority. By agreeing a transfer with The Midcounties Co-operative, particularly with the security that being part of a diverse business provides during these tough times in travel, we are ensuring the protection of our clients and as many of our colleagues' jobs as possible. "We have operated Carrick Travel very much as a family business with our stores playing an important role in the communities they serve. Co-operative Travel's community-focused mindset and principles of care and compassion match our own ethos and we know that our team members and clients will be passed into very safe hands."