Peter Stratton has been appointed as Head of New Business Development for the Kent-based travel group that includes Albatross Travel, Albatross Tours, Success Tours, Scenic Car Tours and Door2Tour.

Peter, who has owned Simpson Recruitment, the travel industry executive recruitment specialist, since January 2000, has previously held senior roles with P&O Ferries, Eurotunnel and the CMV Travel Group. During the past 20 years he has also been involved with numerous consulting projects, assisting with growth and business strategies for both travel and non-travel companies, including mergers and acquisitions and personnel development. His initial focus will be to maximise The Albatross Group’s business with Disneyland Paris, where there is huge investment planned in the next few years. In addition to this, he will be looking at acquisitions in line with the Group’s interests in group travel but not currently included in their portfolio. He retains ownership of Simpson Recruitment and continues to oversee developments there, 30 years on from its launch in 1990.

Steve Hornby, CEO of The Albatross Group, says he very much looked forward to welcoming Stratton to the leadership team. ‘We have known Peter for many years, and he brings to the business a real passion for Disney and a wealth of experience. We are looking forward to working closely with him to help us achieve our long-term ambition for the The Albatross Group.’ Peter will be based at the Group’s UK Head Office near Maidstone, Kent.