Devonshire will take up a regional sales manager role with Classic, covering trade sales and support for agents in Essex, East Anglia and the home counties.

Si Morris-Green, Classic’s director of agency sales and marketing, said: "Patrick brings a wealth of experience to the role and a proven track record in proactively managing business to business relationships with travel agent partners.

"[He] will be a major asset in supporting agents to attract and retain customers and give greater focus to driving mutual business growth."

Devonshire added: "These are exciting times at Classic and this is a great opportunity to join a well-established and reinvigorated operator. I’m looking forward to nurturing existing relationships with current travel trade partners, and using my experience to welcome new business to a widely respected and much-loved brand."

His appointment marks the completion of a wholesale restructure of Classic’s trade team, which the operator said was designed to drive a more targeted approach to sales and support across the UK and Ireland.

Martin Page and Jorge Quibell have joined the operator as regional sales managers, covering Classic’s north east and central and south west and Channel Islands regions respectively.

Jo Moran, meanwhile, has been promoted to a new trade support manager role, while Ali Bull has taken on a strategic account manager role dedicated to homeworkers.

Former G Touring key account manager Phil Shipman has also recently joined Classic as the operator’s new strategic account manager for consortia.

Morris-Green told TTG in May the restructure had been many months in the making, and would be central to Classic’s efforts to "ensure agents remain at the forefront" of the business’s thinking.