Leger Holidays has announced that Liam Race has been appointed chief executive of the newly formed Leger Shearings Group of escorted coach tour companies.

He takes over from Ian Henry, who moves to an executive chairman position.

Race joined Leger Holidays in 2017 as commercial manager, becoming commercial director two years later.

Earlier in his career he held positions at Apollo Direct, Alpharooms and Clickstay but immediately prior to joining Leger he spent nearly five years at electronics retail giant Maplin, in various roles across pricing, procurement purchasing and digital marketing.

In December 2019, Race, finance director Andrew Oldfield and operations director Chris Plummer acquired a 30 per cent stake in Leger Holidays, with backing from NatWest. 

Ian and Kathleen Henry hold the remaining 70 per cent.

Yorkshire-based Leger Holidays acquired the Shearings’ brand in June, following the collapse of former owner, Specialist Leisure Group.

Race said of his appointment: “Ian Henry has been an inspirational mentor to me and has successfully led Leger Holidays for many years, including during these challenging pandemic times. 

“When I committed to the company, by acquiring a stake holding a year ago, the intention was for me to step up and Ian to be less involved in the day-to-day running of the company and that time has now come. 

“I have learnt so much from Ian and am pleased that in his new role as executive chairman, the Leger Shearings Group will continue to benefit from his exceptional strategic thinking.”