A LEADING travel company is closing its Hampshire office and transferring its operations to London.

Package holiday firm Sunsail yesterday announced it is moving its UK operations office in Port Solent to Surbiton, south London, to join its complementary specialist holiday department as part of the Specialist Holidays Group (SHG).

Nearly 100 staff work at the Hampshire base and they have been offered positions in Surbiton when their office closes in March next year.

A statement released by the company said the decision was being made “in order to continue the growth of its overseas sailing holiday business”

It continued: “Joining the SHG operations will allow Sunsail customers to benefit from many of the initiatives already implemented to the SHG brands including electronic information packs, e-tickets and in-resort updates through Twitter and Facebook.

“In the last months we’ve consulted with all our staff on a one-to-one basis.

“A number of staff are trialling the new offices in Surbiton.”

Sunsail’s UK operations of schools and events will not be affected.

The SHG is part of TUI Travel PLC and contains holiday brands including ski operator Crystal Ski, luxury holiday operator Hayes & Jarvis, country specialists Citalia and Austravel and luxury yacht operator The Moorings.