QUEST Travel, the London travel firm which opened a northern base in York in September is expanding and training up ten more people for a new call centre.

The long haul travel specialist which provides tailor-made holidays for the independent rover was helped by the city's Inward Investment Board to find its northern outpost premises in Walmgate. Now the three-person team will also rent a 1,400 sq ft two-storey unit for a call centre at Clifton Moor Business Village, off James Nicholson Link.

Richard Todd, Quest's new northern area manager said the plan had always been to find larger premises in York to substitute for the Walmgate office, which was a holding operation, but business had been so good the Walmgate office would be maintained.

He said: "For the time being we don't have enough experienced staff to man both premises, so logistically once the Clifton Moor call centre is trading from January 2, the Walmgate office will close, but only temporarily.

"The James Nicholson Link offices should be firing on all cylinders with a staff of 12 by February 15 and as soon as three more arrive from our head office in Kingston we will re-open the Walmgate office, hopefully in March."

Should demand for tailored trips to Australia and South Africa continue at the existing rate he could then foresee another four people being employed next summer.

Mr Todd, originally from Pocklington, now feels fully justified in persuading his Kingston office to move into the regions - the organisation already has another outpost in Swansea.

He said: "Obviously the telephone business in London is global - with customers from all parts of the UK - and this venture would not have been a success if it was simply hiving off all of London's northern clientele.

"But there is a tremendous amount of new business being generated purely by the fact that people feel more comfortable dealing with an organisation which is geographically accessible."