From Ferries to Founder: How Murray Carter Built a Travel Business on Relationships, Reputation and Relentless Service

For most entrepreneurs, starting a business is a leap into the unknown. For Murray Carter, it was something else entirely—a chance to prove that decades of experience, a deep understanding of people, and a willingness to back himself could create something meaningful.

Today, Carter Travel Co is a growing Southampton-based transport business providing executive travel, cruise transfers, airport journeys, educational transport and specialist logistics support across the UK. But the story behind the company begins long before the first branded vehicle appeared on Murray’s driveway.

The Long Road to Entrepreneurship

It starts with a teenager who thought his future lay on the golf course. At sixteen, Murray Carter had little interest in business.

“I played off two as a golfer and all I wanted to do was become a golf pro,” he recalls.

School was never a natural fit. After leaving a private school environment and completing his A-levels, he pursued a degree in Hotel and Catering Management. It proved to be a pivotal decision.

The course exposed him to marketing, finance, operations and people management, while giving him the freedom and independence that university often provides. More importantly, it laid the foundations for a career that would span hospitality, events, transport and executive leadership.

After graduating, Murray worked across the catering and hospitality sector, including running catering at major events such as Ascot, Twickenham andThe Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, managing restaurants, and leading catering operations at the University of Southampton.

Those early years taught him an important lesson. “The more you put into life, the more you get out of it.” It is a philosophy that still guides him today.

Learning That Business Is About People

One theme runs consistently throughout Murray’s career: people matter. During his time managing catering services at the University of Southampton, he became known for investing time in understanding the people who worked for him.

“I knew their families, their interests, what football team they supported. Everything.”

Years later, when staff members became emotional as he left the organisation, it confirmed something he had long believed.

“Everything is about people in the business. Nobody is more important than anybody else.”

That people-first mindset would later become one of Carter Travel Co’s defining characteristics.

But before entrepreneurship came a series of leadership roles that steadily expanded Murray’s experience.

The Boardroom Education

In 2007, Murray joined Red Funnel as Head of Catering. It became one of the most formative chapters of his career.

What began as a catering leadership role quickly evolved into broader operational responsibilities. Within a few years, he joined the executive team and became Group Operations Director, overseeing terminal operations, onboard services and senior maritime personnel. His role then transitioned to Customer Services Director where he led a change in focus for the business which put the customer at the forefront of the decision making process.

Looking back, Murray still laughs about his sense of imposter syndrome. “I always thought someone was going to find out I’d blagged my way into the room.” Yet it was in those boardrooms that he received an education few business schools could provide.

He witnessed multiple ownership transitions, including the sale of the business for several hundreds of million pounds. He sat alongside former FTSE executives, industry leaders and seasoned non-executive directors.

Rather than formal qualifications alone, Murray credits much of his development to observation.

“I’ve always learned by watching people. Seeing what works, seeing what doesn’t.”

Alongside this practical experience, executive programmes at Cranfield Business School helped sharpen his strategic thinking and reinforced the value of continuous learning.

When Success Doesn’t Feel Like Success

Career progression continued, after Red Funnel, Murray moved into the coach and transport sector, first with local operator Lucketts and later under National Express following an acquisition.

On paper, he was successful, he became Regional Managing Director of National Express South Coast and was responsible for a significant operation, but something was missing.

“I ended up being Regional Managing Director of a business that deep down I knew wasn’t quite right for me..”

Long hours, corporate constraints and increasing frustration eventually left him questioning what came next.

Then opportunity arrived in an unexpected form, a restructuring programme removed his role. For many executives, redundancy would have been a setback, but for Murray, it became the catalyst for something entirely new.

Building Carter Travel Co

After taking time out, playing golf and reflecting on what he wanted from the future, Murray and his wife Rachael decided to take a chance.

They launched Carter Travel Co, there was no sophisticated business plan, no investment pitch, no detailed five-year strategy. Just two vehicles, a logo designed with help from their daughter Megan, and a belief that they could make it work.

The reality was sobering. The newly branded vehicles sat on the driveway waiting for work.

“We looked out of the window and thought, ‘This is brilliant.’ A week later they were still sitting there and we thought, ‘We need some customers.’”

Like many start-ups, the early days were defined by persistence. A school transport contract provided initial stability. Then came a breakthrough.

After losing a subcontracting opportunity at the last minute, Murray took matters into his own hands. He contacted the Operations Director directly through LinkedIn.

A week later, he had secured the contract himself. The relationship remains in place today. Sometimes entrepreneurship is about planning. Sometimes it is simply about being prepared to make the call.

Turning Relationships into Growth

As Carter Travel Co developed, Murray focused on sectors where service and trust mattered most. Relationships built over decades across Southampton’s maritime, hospitality and transport communities opened doors.

One particularly significant opportunity came through Saga Cruises. After six months of conversations and qualification processes, Carter Travel Co became an affiliate partner.

Today, the company handles passenger transfers across the country, from Portsmouth to Cornwall, Scotland and beyond. The work is demanding, but it has also become one of the company’s major growth drivers. More importantly, it reflects Murray’s commitment to customer experience.

During a review meeting, Saga revealed that Carter Travel Co’s customer satisfaction scores exceeded both the affiliate network average and even Saga’s own dedicated transport division.

For Murray, the reason is simple: “People love the personal touch.”

Growing Without Losing What Matters

Carter Travel Co has grown rapidly. The business achieved approximately 75% growth in its second year and is on course for another significant increase this year. Yet Murray remains cautious about growth for growth’s sake.

Having spent years inside large organisations, he has seen what happens when businesses lose sight of the customer.

“Some companies grow so quickly they forget what actually adds value.”

Instead, Carter Travel Co focuses on attention to detail, reliability and customer relationships.

The company’s strong reputation has been built on exceeding expectations rather than chasing scale. As Murray puts it:

“We want to remove a transport headache for our customers.”

While relationships remain at the heart of the business, Carter Travel Co is also becoming more strategic in how it approaches growth. Participation in the University of Southampton's Help to Grow programme encouraged Murray and Rachel to step back from the day-to-day operation and think more carefully about where future opportunities lie.

Working alongside mentors and fellow business owners, they began to analyse their customer base in greater detail, segmenting markets and identifying where the company's strongest opportunities existed. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, they developed a clearer understanding of which customer groups to target, what services resonated with each audience, and which marketing channels would be most effective.

That work has become a genuine family effort. Their daughter, Cleo, now plays a growing role in the business, helping shape Carter Travel Co’s social media strategy and digital presence. Using insights from the market segmentation work, she has helped the business become more focused in how it communicates with different customer groups across LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

For Murray, this represents an important shift. The business was founded on instinct, experience and relationships. Today, those strengths remain, but they are increasingly supported by data, planning and a clearer growth strategy.

The goal is controlled expansion without sacrificing the personal service that has made Carter Travel Co successful.

Lessons Learned Along the Way

For someone who describes himself as his own harshest critic, Murray’s journey is full of lessons. He believes deeply in surrounding yourself with good people. He values hard work but also recognises the importance of adaptability.

And perhaps most importantly, he has learned that failure is not something to fear. Reflecting on the younger version of himself, the teenager chasing dreams of professional golf, his advice is refreshingly straightforward:

“Believe in yourself more.” Then he adds: “Failure is a good thing. It’s not a bad thing. You fail, you learn, you make a smarter decision next time.”

Looking Ahead

Originally, Carter Travel Co was intended to be a business that would support Murray into retirement. Today, that vision has evolved.

The company continues to grow, new opportunities are emerging across maritime, tourism and event sectors, and the future feels full of possibility.

Whether that ultimately means scaling further, bringing in management, or creating a business that supports the next stage of life remains to be seen.

What is certain is that the principles won’t change: Relationships, Trust, Service and people.

After a career that has taken him from hospitality kitchens and university campuses to ferry boardrooms and executive leadership, Murray Carter has discovered that successful businesses are rarely built on grand strategies alone.

More often, they are built one relationship at a time.

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