A TRAVEL agents has temporarily closed down in Basingstoke after opening a second branch in the town.

Hays Travel has a sign posted on the door of its branch in Wote Street informing customers of the temporary closure.

As previously reported in the Gazette, Hays Travel took over the former Thomas Cook store in The Malls following its collapse in September last year, saving up to 2,500 jobs.

Hays Travel bought the historic company’s high street shops in October 2019, acquiring the entire retail portfolio of 555 Thomas Cook shops.

However, the company was unable to open the branch in The Malls immediately because it could not find enough staff to run it.

The Malls branch is now open as Hays Travel.

A member of staff at the store said the closure of the Wote Street branch, which opened in 2017, is temporary, but declined to say why it is currently closed, or when it will re-open. Hays Travel has been asked for a comment.

A spokesman for Hays Travel said: “The Wote Street branch in Basingstoke has been shut temporarily as we continue to recruit, with all current staff from the shop working at the larger branch at Old Basing Mall. The Wote Street branch will re-open as soon as it is fully staffed.”