From chief accountant to co-owner, a dedicated employee has celebrated 50 years of service with one of Cambridgeshire’s leading travel firms.

Peter Andrews began his career at Premier Travel in 1967 and, this year, he has marked his golden anniversary with the business, where he has risen through the ranks.

Initially employed on a two-year contract, Mr Andrews, aged 24 at the time, was then asked to stay on with the business.

He became finance director for the group in 1972, and

15 years later, in 1987, Mr Andrews formed a partnership with fellow director, Renford Sargent, to buy out the company.

The idea came about when the former owners decided

to retire and the collaboration has now spanned more than half a century.

In the same year as the buy out, the business moved to Milton Road, Cambridge, which Mr Andrews has always marked as the coming together of different parts of the group.

And, since then, the company has gone on to set up 18 stores across East Anglia including one in Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots.

In 2016, Mr Andrews and his team oversaw the move of the company’s headquarters to Cambourne Business Park, where he celebrated the milestone occasion.

He said: “The last five decades have gone by quickly and I

have so many stories and memories from my long career at

Premier. Who would have thought that my initial two years with the company would turn into 50?

“The partnership between Renford and I is still as strong as it was all those years ago, and it has been a pleasure working alongside him and the whole of Premier.”

Throughout his time at the company, Mr Andrews has seen the firm operate holidays from Cambridge Airport

to the Channel Islands, before adding America and Asia to its programme.

And he has seen the business itself celebrate 80 years with the expansion of its footprint

across the region.