The man behind Lime

From his school days, Managing Director Michael Edwards was keen to get involved in the travel business, which influenced his decision to dive into the hotel industry as opposed to continuing to further education. Starting his journey in the cafes and hotels of Llandudno, North Wales, he quickly progressed from dishwasher to management and eventually general manager of a boutique hotel in Barbados.

Here he was given the opportunity to join International Travel Connections (ITC), a leading UK luxury tour operator as product manager. Travelling the world discovering new destinations and using his skills to select luxury hotels and develop new holiday concepts wasn’t a bad career move! Mike progressed to managing director at ITC where he spent 10 years ahead of his directorship at Beachcomber Tours.

Keen to develop his own business he created the British Airways booking and ticketing specialist, Lime in 2003 and later, sister companies Aviate - the UK’s leading flights consolidator - and Calrom, a software development company. Now unified under the Travel Innovation Group, the three companies have experienced significant growth; with over 460 employees based in Pakistan and South Africa as well as their two North West UK bases. Moving into the cruise market in 2020, Mike now leads dedicated brands that offer ATOL bonded, cruise inclusive packages to the UK travel agent and tour operator.