Virgin Holidays and retailer Next have announced a new partnership that will see the travel company launch 20 new concession stores across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The partnership is the first UK tie-up of its kind between a retailer and a fashion brand and supports the strategy of Virgin Holidays and Next to reach a core family demographic. 

The new stores include Crawley Country Oaks, Belfast Donegal Place and York Vangarde Retail Park.

Dan Buckingham, head of retail at Virgin Holidays, commented: “We’re continually looking to diversify and expand our retail network – and Next is an obvious partner. 

“Not only do they fit our current customer demographics, they also have a retail footprint that is well-located and superbly designed.

“We’re confident this partnership will deliver stand-out results for both businesses.”

Virgin Holidays runs an omni-channel sales approach where the vast majority of customers will use at least two of its three sales channels – for example choosing to research their holiday online, before booking in-store.

A spokesperson for Next, commented: “Virgin Holidays is a great partner for us to complement our current offering in store. The chance to book a holiday and shop all under one roof.”