Bermuda's newest travel agent has raised over $2 million and is in the process of buying a Hamilton office from which to operate.

C Travel, which was set up by veteran travel agent Carl Paiva, opened its doors at the end of November.

Now it is up and running in a temporary office in the Imperial Building on Church Street.

The company is 84 percent owned by its employees who had the opportunity to buy shares in the business for $15 a piece. There were originally 150,000 shares (worth a potential $2.25 million), but now there are just a few left for corporate deals.

Mr. Paiva said buying the building with the investment money made sense for both the business and its stockholders.

He said: "We are 84 percent owned by the staff. We have had some very heavy investments from the staff, and with some of the capital we have purchased a building. I am not yet at liberty to say where it is, but it is in a perfect location for a travel agency. There is lots of parking and it will be easy to find and come in. The building also gives the company something tangible as an asset.

"The building and business are one. We are scheduling to move in March when it will be renovated and the designer will be out of there by then.'' Mr.

Paiva is well known for his work in the travel industry. He has spent almost 30 years in the travel industry and helped build Meyer Travel, becoming executive vice-president of the company before his resignation on August 15.

Many of his staff are ex-Meyer travel staff and he has even managed to entice former co-owner of Global Travel, Sue Ingham, to come on board.

He said he had no problem getting staff to come to the company. And it was not just because the new business was employee-owned.

The company will shortly grow its staff from ten to 14, including Mr. Paiva, who have all taken the opportunity to take out shares in the company.

"It was never obligatory,'' he said. "You could take out anything from 15 to 150,000 shares, which is the maximum. And it was amazing how much people wanted to invest. We have even had people 'phoning up from the outside and asking to invest in the company, which we will not do.'' He added: "If you allow your staff to develop, to use their initiative and talent in a friendly environment which rewards integrity and creativity, your business stands a better chance of succeeding. Everyone has talent. It is up to business leaders to create environments in which that talent will blossom.''