Fledgling business opens its first high street branch with the support of Invest East Yorkshire 

Invest East Yorkshire’s Business Support Services team has supported Go Cruise & Travel to open its first high street branch. The specialist travel company moved into previously vacant premises on Boothferry Road in Goole in July 2024. 

The franchise is operated by travel specialists Richard and Yvonne Sharp, who had previously operated from home. In addition to bringing an empty shop back into use and enhancing the appearance of the town centre, the opening of their Goole branch has also created a new job. 

Richard and Yvonne received a Property Activation Fund grant of £6,224.64 from the Goole Town Deal regeneration programme towards the cost of refurbishing the building. The couple also invested a significant amount of their own money to bring their new business venture to Goole, with the total cost of the restoration project exceeding £15,000. 

Richard said that he and Yvonne were keen to open a branch in Goole because the town has been without a high street travel agency for some time, adding: “It’s an up-and-coming place and, given the size of the town, we believe there’s an opportunity to provide this service to the local community. The Property Activation Fund helped us bring this to life and enabled us to produce a higher quality premises than we may have done.” 

Richard explained: “Harry Booth has been our Business Adviser from Invest East Yorkshire since we first started the business. It was Harry who brought the Goole Town Deal’s Property Activation Fund to our attention and he’s been a big help with it all.” 

Business Adviser Harry Booth explained: “I started working with Richard when he first launched his venture from home. He quickly realised he wanted to grow the business by opening a high street branch. Richard spotted a gap in the market in Goole town centre and began to explore this opportunity in more detail.  

“It was at this point that I signposted him to his local Business and Intellectual Property Centre and made him aware of Goole Town Deal’s Property Activation Fund by sending him details about an open day that the Goole Town Deal team were hosting, which he attended. From this, Richard was able to gather key business intelligence and statistics that helped to inform his decision.” 

Once Richard had decided to make the move to the high street, Harry helped him with the grant application process. He continues to support Richard and Yvonne with their marketing activities and to explore other grant funding opportunities for their new venture. 

Part of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Invest East Yorkshire’s Business Support team works closely with businesses on projects that will help them to grow and evolve, as well as identifying any sources of funding that may be available to help them. If you’re looking for support or to find out if you’re eligible for grant funding, go to www.investeastyorkshire.co.uk/business-support for more information.