Bill Munro, founder of Barrhead Travel, Scotland’s biggest independent travel agency, has died at the age of 80.
Bill switched from a career in banking to launch Barrhead Travel in 1975 after spotting a gap in the market for an out-of-hours travel agency that opened in the evenings and at weekends.
He’d realised while researching his own holiday that, in the pre-internet days, the UK travel industry was still a nine to five high street retail operation.
He launched his travel agency business with a single shop on Barrhead high street, which remained open in the evenings and at weekends, and soon there were queues outside every Saturday morning. With the help of seed finance from his brother Donald, who had grown a chain of chemists in Scotland, the business grew to become one of the top travel retail chains in the UK.
By the end of the ‘90s, Barrhead Travel had a branch in almost every major Scottish town and city. It even had shops in former out of town petrol stations. By 2010 its annual turnover had topped £100 million and it employed 400 staff.
In 1999, it was one of the first travel companies in the UK to launch a website, and it expanded into chartering its own flights, but Bill never liked to be called an entrepreneur. In a 2010 interview with Insider Magazine, he said: “I’m often referred to as an entrepreneur but I don’t like that term at all because I think they take too many risks with other people’s money. I would rather be referred to personally as a good solid businessman who is more interested in being business long term rather than making a quick killing”
In 2007, he handed over the reins to his daughter Sharon Munro, via a management buyout, saying at the time: “I think I have taken the business to a certain level and Sharon is taking it to a much higher level.”
He remained very closely involved with Barrhead until a fall out with new owners, US based Travel Leaders Group, who bought the company in 2018, by which time it was employing 900 people in 75 locations. Bill had been offered an advisory role with the enlarged company, but the relationship soured. He later won a claim for unfair dismissal, but he wasn’t awarded any compensation by an employment tribunal. At the time he said: “This was never about money, it was about much more than that, my reputation and my standing in the industry.”
Earlier, in 2014, Bill had hit the headlines when he emailed staff to urge them to vote No in the Scottish independence referendum, saying that a Yes vote would be a ‘disaster’.
Mark Hollinshead, Chief Operating Officer of National World, owner of The Scotsman newspaper, described Bill as ‘one of the founding architects of the modern travel industry in the UK’.
“With a constant focus on his staff and customers Bill Munro’s standing and reputation in the UK, and global travel industry, following his passing on Saturday October 26th, has never been greater,” said Mark. “He was one of the trailblazers in UK travel and his entrepreneurial spirit, common sense approach and straight talking will ensure that he is remembered as more than a just a ‘good solid businessman’. Bill Munro was one of the founding architects of the modern travel industry in the UK.”
Bill passed away peacefully at his home in Thorntonhall after falling ill during the summer. He leaves his wife, Susan, daughters Sharon and Wendy, and grandchildren Ross and Hannah.
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Bill switched from a career in banking to launch Barrhead Travel in 1975 after spotting a gap in the market for an out-of-hours travel agency that opened in the evenings and at weekends.
He’d realised while researching his own holiday that, in the pre-internet days, the UK travel industry was still a nine to five high street retail operation.
He launched his travel agency business with a single shop on Barrhead high street, which remained open in the evenings and at weekends, and soon there were queues outside every Saturday morning. With the help of seed finance from his brother Donald, who had grown a chain of chemists in Scotland, the business grew to become one of the top travel retail chains in the UK.
By the end of the ‘90s, Barrhead Travel had a branch in almost every major Scottish town and city. It even had shops in former out of town petrol stations. By 2010 its annual turnover had topped £100 million and it employed 400 staff.
In 1999, it was one of the first travel companies in the UK to launch a website, and it expanded into chartering its own flights, but Bill never liked to be called an entrepreneur. In a 2010 interview with Insider Magazine, he said: “I’m often referred to as an entrepreneur but I don’t like that term at all because I think they take too many risks with other people’s money. I would rather be referred to personally as a good solid businessman who is more interested in being business long term rather than making a quick killing”
In 2007, he handed over the reins to his daughter Sharon Munro, via a management buyout, saying at the time: “I think I have taken the business to a certain level and Sharon is taking it to a much higher level.”
He remained very closely involved with Barrhead until a fall out with new owners, US based Travel Leaders Group, who bought the company in 2018, by which time it was employing 900 people in 75 locations. Bill had been offered an advisory role with the enlarged company, but the relationship soured. He later won a claim for unfair dismissal, but he wasn’t awarded any compensation by an employment tribunal. At the time he said: “This was never about money, it was about much more than that, my reputation and my standing in the industry.”
Earlier, in 2014, Bill had hit the headlines when he emailed staff to urge them to vote No in the Scottish independence referendum, saying that a Yes vote would be a ‘disaster’.
Mark Hollinshead, Chief Operating Officer of National World, owner of The Scotsman newspaper, described Bill as ‘one of the founding architects of the modern travel industry in the UK’.
“With a constant focus on his staff and customers Bill Munro’s standing and reputation in the UK, and global travel industry, following his passing on Saturday October 26th, has never been greater,” said Mark. “He was one of the trailblazers in UK travel and his entrepreneurial spirit, common sense approach and straight talking will ensure that he is remembered as more than a just a ‘good solid businessman’. Bill Munro was one of the founding architects of the modern travel industry in the UK.”
Bill passed away peacefully at his home in Thorntonhall after falling ill during the summer. He leaves his wife, Susan, daughters Sharon and Wendy, and grandchildren Ross and Hannah.
The post Barrhead Travel founder and industry stalwart Bill Munro has died appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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