Former professional footballer Glyn Roberts his kicked off a new private hire travel business.

Ipswich Star: Glyn Roberts kicks off a new executive travel business for Ipswich. Picture: DAVID VINCENTGlyn Roberts kicks off a new executive travel business for Ipswich. Picture: DAVID VINCENT (Image: Archant)

Charlise Travel is on a much smaller scale, with just four vehicles, to JR Executive Travel which he built in to a major operation and then sold in November 2015, in a management buy-out.

Mr Roberts built the business over the previous 12 years along his father Malcolm.

JR Travel, under its new ownership, subsequently collapsed into administration in November 2018.

Now Glyn Roberts is back in the driving seat with this new company.

The company name comes from a combination of his daughters' names, Charlie and Elise.

He said: "When we sold the company we had a restriction not to be active in travel for three years, which was to November 2018.

"I applied for an operator's licence and got everything ready for December 2018.

"When we ran JR Travel I used to get very stressed. I don't want that again.

"We had built it up to a major business. We used to turn over £1.5m and had 26 vehicles and 40 drivers."

He has no ambition to create a large scale business.

He said: "I want it to be small scale and high end. We do airport trips and Newmarket Nights and that sort of thing.

"We have just four vehicles, all Mercedes, including a 16 seater and an eight seater."

Mr Roberts, 44, who was a Norwich City apprentice and then played for the likes of Rotherham United, King's Lynn, Chelmsford and Diss, has remained active over the past three years.

He added: "I can't sit around. I took my HGV and I have been lorry driving for three years. I worked through an agency, and went all over the country, without the stress of management.

"I am pleased to be back with Charlise Travel. I love it. I do as much of it as I can. It is really just my dad and two other drivers."

Charlise Travel had linked with other small operators, he said, to co-operate over airport deliveries and pick-ups.

"We share a diary. There is no sense in one of us having a 8am drop at Heathrow and another one having a 11am pick-up. If we work together we can avoid a journey with an empty vehicle. That is good for all of us."