A NEW travel business in Swindon has gone from nought to sixty within months of setting up, thanks to a surge in the number of bookings.

Mark Kennedy’s firm 4K Travel started with one, 13-seater luxury VIP minibus in May but he has already been able to invest in several more vehicles.

Based at Elgin alongside two sister companies - community transport business Akcess CIC, which largely caters for school runs, and Akcess Medical, which provides non-emergency hospital transport – it offers travel for everything from corporate and social events to airport runs.

As well as the VIP minibus, the fleet now includes two 16-seater minibuses, one 29-seater coach and two 41 seater coaches. There is also a 15-seater bus with wheelchair access.

“We incorporated the company a year ago, but only really started trading properly in May and so we are doing fantastically well,” said Mark.

“I’ve been working hard to build up the client base for 4K Travel, but I think a lot of its success is due to the reputation we have with Akcess CIC and Akcess Medical for providing a great transport service, which is wheelchair accessible.”

Mark named the coaches after his late grandparents. His grandfather, Dennis, died 20 years ago and he lost his grandmother, Doris, five years ago, just as Akcess CIC was taking off.

“Ours are all family-based businesses. My father, Mike, set up Akcess CIC originally with one vehicle, then I took it over and since then it has grown massively, so I went on to set up Akcess Medical and now 4K Travel.” Although he is the sole director,daughters Emma and Charli work as administrators with Akcess Medical and Akcess CIC and his sister sister Lulu is a driver with Akcess CIC.

There are plans to expand 4K Travel over the next few months, by increasing the size of the fleet, but Mark also needs more professional, qualified drivers to meet demand. Drivers need to have a Cat D licence and their driver CPC. Mark added: “What is particularly important is having drivers who really know how to deliver great customer service, which we are proud to be able to offer clients of 4K Travel.”