Ian Colman talks to Angela Youngman about the growth and success of IC Travel and ICT Coaches Limited and his future hopes for the two businesses
A hobby involving taking community groups on coach trips to the West End provided Ian Colman with the perfect business opportunity when redundancy began to beckon. It has proved to be a very successful decision, resulting in not only the organisation of trips but with colleagues, the establishment of a new coach company.
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A banker by profession, Ian is a strong believer in the value of community service and for many years, had organised a Christmas coach trip to the West End theatres. Demand grew and he was eventually organising two or three a year. When the banking industry started to change, and talk of redundancies became ever more prevalent, Ian recognised that the time had come to start planning for the future.
A new direction
He explains: “About six years ago, there was a chance of redundancy at the bank and I began to look at what I could do next. I thought I would see if we could do more trips. I knew that redundancy had to come sometime and was making myself ready for it. Four years ago, I set up IC Travel and was running it while working full-time at the bank. I took redundancy two years ago and turned IC Travel into a full-time business bringing together my skills and interests. Over two years IC Travel has grown from six trips a year to over 130 day trips, plus eight or nine short holiday breaks in the UK and Europe. This year we are taking a group on a Norwegian cruise.”
Destinations range from gardens, London shows, Andrea Bocelli at the NEC, RHS Wisley, Marvel Universe Live at the O2, and Chatham Dockyard, to specialist activities like Birdfair, quilting shows, card making exhibitions, floral art shows, antiques, national model railway exhibition, and collectors fairs. Local places are equally popular such as trips to Cromer Pier Show, Newmarket Races, Sandringham Flower Show, Thriplow Daffodil weekend. Short breaks include Bruges Zandfeesten, Normandy Battlefields, Lake District and the Isle of Wight.
Many tours sell out almost as fast as the visits are announced.
“We do a lot of travel for specialist groups for example taking a group of miniature dolls house enthusiasts to an exhibition, we do group visits to quilt making or card making exhibitions. They tell us they are interested in a group visit, but don’t have enough people themselves. We organise it and open it to others. We can cater for their specialist interests.” Ian commented.
“We do not aim to be the cheapest trip provider, but we do offer a personal, quality service from the first contact, making us one of the best. On our overseas trips, we work with companies who can personally recommend hotels and facilities. In the UK we only use ones we have visited and used ourselves so we can guarantee the quality. My favourite trip is to the Houses of Parliament.
There is so much of interest there, and that trip is always something special.”
Evolution
It is a business that has grown organically, relying on word of mouth recommendations, social media and a limited amount of advertising around Taverham and within the A11 corridor around Norwich, Wymondham and Attleborough. Many of the customers are elderly and find it difficult to travel to these places on their own. Over 2,500 people receive the company’s weekly email listing tours and trips and around 1,200 receive the brochures in the post.
“Social media is a new but big opportunity for us and we get a lot of response from it. We just put out a posting on Facebook about our new coach. Within two days we received over 150 queries.” Ian says.
The target customer market is mainly retired people aged 50 plus, up to 95 year olds although some trips such as visits to Harry Potter or shows at the O2 arena for example can attract younger people and families.
Initially, IC Travel used vehicles provided by Richards Coaches of Guist as well as having their own seven-seater minibus. By 2018, IC Travel was doing much more business especially into London and big cities.
“We were aware of the new emissions regulations for vehicles and we needed to be compliant in order to avoid the surcharges. We looked with Richards at new coaches and had our name put down for a new 53 seater Mercedes Benz Tourismo in our distinctive blue, yellow and white livery complete with city skyline silhouettes.”
Change in direction
An unexpected change of direction then occurred. In November 2018, Richards of Guist ceased trading, and Spratts of Wreningham, another local coach operator, also closed around the same time. Spotting an opportunity, Ian joined forces with Simon Spencer and Alison Fenton, two former colleagues from Richards Coaches to set up a new business, ICT Coaches Limited. The coach operator’s license arrived in January.
“We felt that there was an opportunity for a new company in the area with a new vehicle available for day trips and hire. We plan to add two more vehicles later this year, a 32-seater coach with toilet and a new 16-seater. IC Travel has its own seven seater minibus which we use for small groups, and also hired to companies such as Norwich City Football club. We will now be able to offer a service across a range of vehicles. We want to be different, providing travel for seven people up to over 100 if necessary. We can do everything from a small mystery tour around Norfolk for a group of friends going out for the day, to a football club, a theatre trip or a holiday tour.”
He added, “All our vehicles are operated on a lease from manufacturers. This enables us to have new vehicles and run them on a five-year basis. They are all fully compliant with Euro VI emission regulations and this enables us to travel anywhere with confidence.”
To cater for the new demands of ICT Coaches Ltd, new premises have been acquired at Drayton Farms on the outskirts of Norwich to provide housing for the vehicles.
Customer comes first
High levels of customer care are seen as crucial to the success of the two businesses. “We are very flexible and offer personal touches for our customers. For example, we have just had someone book a surprise trip for a golden wedding anniversary and we will be decorating the seats with golden balloons etc and make it special for them. It goes back to my days as a personal banker, helping people and dealing with customers on a personal basis. I like to take that personal touch to the coach business.”
“All our trips are accompanied by a courier. We have a team of people who help out. I or someone from the team accompanies every trip. This means that the driver has someone to help with passengers or deal with travel problems. The guide concentrates on making people feel welcome, provide them with refreshments such as coffee and tea, and makes sure that no one gets left out if they are travelling on their own. We often get single people travelling on their own for the first time; especially after a bereavement and we make sure they are welcomed and made to feel part of the group. They always make some friends on the coach. We try to remember faces and give that personal touch, recognising the type of tea or coffee they like such as asking ‘Do you want your usual Earl Grey?’ We get to know what the customers like, the type of help they need and so we have people coming time and time again.”
One of the most memorable trips Ian has organised was to the Royal Albert Hall in 2018 for the RAF Centenary concert. He explains: “We were the only company in Norfolk that did so. On the coach was a 93-year-old, very smartly dressed wearing all his medals. He had a tear in his eye when he told me that he had never thought that he would see the centenary of the RAF, or be at the event at the Royal Albert Hall. He was so grateful that we were running the trip and said without IC Travel he would not have been able to be there. During the concert, there was a request that anyone who had served in the RAF should stand up. He was so proud to stand up wearing his medals. It was not just a trip out for the day, but an event that was really important to him.”
Scope for growth
Ian believes that the two companies offer lots of scope for growth. He says: “Looking 12 months ahead we will have three vehicles in ICT Coaches Ltd and we will be looking to expand further, steadily and organically. What we do not want to do is become a big corporate company. We want to keep that friendly family business style, trading at a level where we can offer personal service.”
There can be little doubt that his life has changed significantly since accepting redundancy from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Quite apart from developing two new businesses and obtaining his coach operators permit, Ian has also gained a coach drivers licence. “It is always useful to have a second driver on the coach, especially on longer trips. It also gives me an understanding of what it is like to drive a coach and the pressures a driver faces in his daily work.”
One such example happened in October last year when Ian was accompanying a group back from London where they had been enjoying a trip to The Phantom of the Opera. A major accident totally blocked the A11 just past Wymondham resulting in a traffic jam lasting over four hours. As the road was impassible, all vehicles had to eventually turn round and drive back down the carriageway to Wymondham. This posed a problem for the massive 81-seater coach operated by Richards of Guist. With only four feet clearance, it had to turn by minute stages during which Ian had to signal the driver using a torch from the back of the coach!
Part of the community
And what of that community service that ultimately led to the creation of these business opportunities? It is certainly wide ranging – covering everything from parish councilor to conducting a brass band, producing and organising outdoor concerts. It has resulted in success in more than one way. Ian was awarded an MBE in H.M the Queen’s 90th birthday honours – and it came as a total surprise to him.
“I have always been involved in community service. It is very important to me, especially the Scouts and the Brass Band at Taverham with which I have been involved for years. I was also a school governor and chairman of Ringland Parish Council. Members formed a small group and put in an award recommendation recognising my community service. I didn’t know anything about it until I got a letter from St James Palace.
“As it happened, it arrived on my birthday. I had spent the day at the theatre doing something from my bucket list – watching Glen Close in Sunset Boulevard. I got home and found the letter from St James’ Palace in the post.
“I received the award at Buckingham Palace from the Prince of Wales in January 2017. It was at the same ceremony as Ant & Dec received their OBE’s and I can remember having a long chat with them while we were waiting for the ceremony to begin.”
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