The reformed division - Co-op Travel Management – will operate as a travel management company and restart operations this winter.

Its reintroduction brings the number of travel services within the Midcounties portfolio to five.

Mike Crotty has been appointed to head up the division having previously held the position of director of operations and business support at Co-operative Travel Management, before it was sold in 2014.

Midcounties said the corporate arm would operate using “market-leading software and cloud based platforms” to create a technology-driven virtual call centre which will “enable the business to recruit quality agents from across the UK”.

Crotty said: “Expanding into corporate has been on the agenda for a while at Midcounties and now is the right time to launch this venture.

“Using technology is a key part of the new division, and we’ve made significant investments into IT and virtualisation systems, which will enable customers to access our services on the go.

“Flying under the Co-op banner and approaching business with the ethical stance of the society will give Co-op Travel Management a competitive edge and make us a unique proposition for the market.”