Thomas Cook Group
| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Travel and tourism |
| Predecessor | Thomas Cook AG, MyTravel Group |
| Founded | June 19, 2007 in United Kingdom |
| Defunct | September 23, 2019 |
| Fate | Entered compulsory liquidation |
| Successor | Thomas Cook Holidays (by Fosun International), Hays Travel (UK retail outlets), others |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom , United Kingdom |
Area served | Europe, international |
Key people | Harriet Green (former CEO), Peter Fankhauser (former CEO) |
| Products | Tour operator, airline, travel agencies |
Number of employees | 21,000 (approximate at collapse) (2019) |
Thomas Cook Group plc was an international travel conglomerate based in the United Kingdom, publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange from its inception on 19 June 2007, which resulted from the merger of Thomas Cook AG—the successor to Thomas Cook & Son—and MyTravel Group. The company operated until 23 September 2019, when it entered into compulsory liquidation. Functioning as both a tour operator and airline, the group maintained travel agencies throughout Europe. At the time of its failure, approximately 21,000 employees globally (including 9,000 within the UK) were dismissed, and about 600,000 travelers (with 150,000 based in the UK) found themselves stranded overseas, triggering the UK's largest repatriation effort during peacetime.
After the group's insolvency, various segments were acquired by different entities, including UK retail travel outlets, airlines, as well as the Thomas Cook brand and logo, alongside hotel brands and tour operators. Since August 2012, Thomas Cook India had operated independently following its purchase by Fairfax Financial, thus remaining unaffected by the collapse. In September 2020, Fosun International introduced Thomas Cook Holidays as the successor enterprise and rehired a portion of former employees.
Establishment
In February 2007, a merger was announced between Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc, aiming to achieve annual cost savings exceeding £75 million through integration efforts. According to the merger agreement, KarstadtQuelle (later renamed Arcandor), then owners of Thomas Cook AG, retained a 52% stake in the combined entity, while shareholders of MyTravel held 48%. The merger was finalized in June 2007 through the creation of 'NewCo', which acquired both companies and was subsequently listed on the London Stock Exchange under the name Thomas Cook Group plc.
2008–2009
On 14 February 2008, Thomas Cook expanded its online presence by acquiring booking platform Hotels4U.com for £21.8 million. The following month, it reacquired licensing rights for operating under the Thomas Cook brand across the Middle East and Asia from Dubai Investment Group, paying roughly €249 million. In April 2008, luxury travel specialist Elegant Resorts was purchased from founders Geoff Moss and Barbara Catchpole. Later that year in December, Thomas Cook bought Preston-based Gold Medal International—owner of NetFlights—for £87 million.
In March 2009, a partnership with Octopus Media Technology was established to host and supply an online video player for Thomas Cook TV. During that spring season, Thomas Cook UK secured an exclusive deal with The E3 Group to provide entertainment content. Although majority shareholder Arcandor filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2009, Thomas Cook’s operations remained insulated; creditor banks sold Arcandor’s shares in September 2009.
2010–2015
In July 2010, Thomas Cook Group acquired Öger Tours, a German tourism firm owned by Vural Öger.
That same year, Thomas Cook Group agreed to combine its retail branch network with that of The Co-operative Group. This joint venture received approval from the Competition Commission in 2011. Ownership was structured with Thomas Cook holding 66.5%, The Co-operative Group owning 30%, and the remaining 3.5% controlled by the Midlands Co-operative (later known as Central England Co-operative). This alliance created the largest travel retail network in the UK. Subsequently, Thomas Cook's Going Places outlets were rebranded under The Co-operative name.
In May 2012, leadership changed as Harriet Green became CEO of Thomas Cook Group, succeeding Manny Fontenla-Novoa. On 1 July 2013, it was announced that publication of the Thomas Cook European Timetable would cease and its publishing division would close; its final issue was released in August 2013. Publication resumed in early 2014 under new independent management.
In February 2014, Gold Medal Travel—including Netflights.com—was sold to dnata for about £45 million. On 26 November 2014, Harriet Green departed suddenly; COO Peter Fankhauser was promoted to CEO.
Inquiry into carbon monoxide fatalities
In October 2006, two young British siblings, Christianne and Robert Shepherd, aged six and seven respectively, tragically died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a malfunctioning boiler while on a Corfu vacation arranged through Thomas Cook. These were the company's first fatalities linked to such an incident.
In 2010, two employees of Thomas Cook faced manslaughter charges due to negligence in Greece; both were acquitted, and the company was exonerated of any liability. However, a UK inquest in 2015 ruled the deaths as unlawful killing, determining that Thomas Cook had failed in its "duty of care".
After the inquest, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Thomas Cook received £3 million from the hotel proprietors where the incident took place. In response, Thomas Cook donated £1.5 million to UNICEF, a move criticized by the bereaved family for lacking prior consultation. Joanna Bourke of The Independent characterized Thomas Cook's crisis management following the tragedy as "an example of how not to handle a crisis".
2016–2018 developments
In 2016, The Co-operative Group decided to withdraw from its joint venture involving branch networks. Subsequently, Thomas Cook Group purchased the shares held by The Co-operative Group and Central England Co-operative in The Co-operative Travel, assuming full ownership of the retail outlets and rebranding the former Co-operative high street travel stores throughout 2017 and 2018.
In March 2017, Thomas Cook divested its Belgian airline operations to Lufthansa. As a result, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium ceased operations by November 2017; two aircraft and all traffic rights were transferred to Brussels Airlines, while three remaining planes were reassigned to affiliated airlines.
In August 2018, a British couple died during a holiday booked with Thomas Cook at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic resort in Hurghada, Egypt. Egyptian authorities attributed the cause to a heart attack and shock; however, their daughter suspected a defective air conditioning system was responsible. After several other guests became unwell, Thomas Cook evacuated approximately 300 holidaymakers from the property.
By November 2018, financial analysts proposed dividing Thomas Cook’s operations as a strategy to facilitate financial recovery.
2019: Collapse and final year
In February 2019, the Financial Times reported on bids targeting Thomas Cook’s airline division—including Condor—as well as offers for the entire company. In March, Thomas Cook UK announced plans to close 21 travel agencies and cut 300 jobs, noting that online bookings accounted for 64% of sales in 2018.
By May 2019, emergency funding amounting to £300 million was secured from banking institutions; nonetheless, a £1.5 billion loss was reported for the first half of the financial year, largely due to £1.1 billion in goodwill impairments. Negotiations began in June with Chinese conglomerate Fosun International concerning the sale of the tour operator segment. On 28 August, Fosun agreed to acquire 75% of the tour operator business and 25% of the airline for £450 million.
By September, Thomas Cook had become the most heavily shorted stock on the London Stock Exchange. The company engaged in last-minute discussions with bondholders seeking approval for Fosun's takeover but requested an additional £200 million from the UK government to avoid insolvency. Prior capital restructuring included raising £900 million through debt-for-equity swaps—£450 million of which came from Fosun.
Major lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax demanded further recapitalization to maintain operations during the typically slow January booking period, requiring an extra £200 million. The UK government declined bailout talks. Reports indicated unsuccessful rescue efforts involving potential aid from Turkish authorities and Spanish hotel groups were impeded by lack of guarantees from the British government.
The final rescue attempt collapsed on 22 September. By midnight on 23 September, UK airports began impounding Thomas Cook aircraft over unpaid fees. Shortly after 02:00 BST, the Civil Aviation Authority declared that Thomas Cook had entered liquidation and ceased trading immediately, leaving approximately 600,000 travelers stranded abroad and ending a brand continuously operating since 1841.
The collapse initiated 'Operation Matterhorn,' led by the CAA to repatriate around 150,000 British nationals—a scale exceeding that of Monarch Airlines’ 2017 failure. Approximately 40 aircraft from carriers including easyJet and Virgin Atlantic, along with a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380, were chartered for this effort. Insurance firms coordinated repatriation services for customers in Germany, one of Thomas Cook’s largest markets.
David McHugh of CTV News identified several contributing factors behind the collapse: an overwhelming £1.6 billion debt load combined with industry shifts toward online competitors; geopolitical disruptions such as terrorist attacks (notably Tunisia in 2015); adverse weather events like the 2018 European heatwave; Brexit-related uncertainties; and escalating fuel expenses.
Post-collapse
On 9 October 2019, independent travel agency Hays Travel took over all 555 former Thomas Cook UK outlets, aiming to rehire a substantial portion of the previous workforce. Operating 190 outlets at the time, Hays anticipated retaining more than a quarter of the retail staff, thereby preserving approximately 2,500 jobs.
By 30 October 2019, a consortium comprising Norwegian real estate magnate Petter Stordalen and private equity firms Altor and TDR Capital acquired Thomas Cook Northern Europe (Ving Group). This acquisition included travel agencies such as Ving, Spies, and Tjäreborg, along with Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia—later renamed Sunclass Airlines—and the hotel brands Sunwing and Sunprime. The ownership distribution allocated 40% stakes each to Stordalen and Altor, with TDR Capital holding the remaining 20%. Additionally, Swiss investment company LMEY Investments was reported to be negotiating reacquisition of the Aldiana hotel brand by purchasing Thomas Cook’s 42% minority share.
On 1 November 2019, Fosun International secured the rights to the Thomas Cook brand name, logo, Casa Cook, and Cook's Club hotel chains for £11 million. Subsequently, on 8 November, Thomas Cook’s airport slots were sold for £36 million to easyJet and Jet2holidays; easyJet acquired slots at Gatwick and Bristol airports while Jet2holidays took over those at Birmingham, London Stansted, and Manchester. Unable to find a buyer, Thomas Cook Germany announced its closure on 1 December; meanwhile, administrators sought purchasers for its tour operators Öger Tours, Bucher Reisen, Neckermann, Air Marin, as well as hotel brands Sentido and Smartline.
On 15 November 2019, Neşet Koçkar, chairman of Turkish tour operator Anex Tours, purchased Russian tour operator Intourist from liquidators. Anex further acquired Öger Tours and Bucher Reisen from Thomas Cook Germany on 21 November, preserving 84 jobs. By 2 January 2020, Anex had also secured trademark rights for Neckermann Reisen.
The German travel company DER Touristik took ownership of the Sentido hotel brand on 4 December 2019, subject to antitrust approval. Meanwhile, Thomas Cook Balearics entered insolvency and ceased operations on 26 December.
On 24 January 2020, Polish airline LOT Polish Airlines announced plans to acquire German carrier Condor by April pending regulatory approval. However, LOT withdrew its bid on 13 April; following this withdrawal, the German government agreed to provide emergency financial support. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, German airline Thomas Cook Aviation filed for bankruptcy on 2 April.
On 16 September 2020, Fosun International relaunched the Thomas Cook brand as Thomas Cook Holidays, an online travel provider staffed by approximately 50 employees.
Corporate affairs
The table below presents financial data for Thomas Cook Group plc from 2008 through 2018, including figures following the 2007 merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group.
| Year | Revenue | Net Income | CEO | Chairman |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | €9.4 billion | €284 million | Manny Fontenla-Novoa | Thomas Middelhoff |
| 2008 | £8.1 billion | Decrease £49.5 million | ||
| 2009 | Increase £9.2 billion | Increase £56.1 million | Michael Beckett | |
| 2010 | Decrease £8.8 billion | Decrease £41.7 million | ||
| 2011 | Increase £9.8 billion | Decrease −(£398.2) million | Frank Meysman | |
| 2012 | Decrease £9.4 billion | Decrease −(£485.3) million | Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Sam Weihagen (Interim), Harriet Green | |
| 2013 | Decrease £9.3 billion | Increase −(£158.1) million | Harriet Green | |
| 2014 | Decrease £8.5 billion | Increase −(£114) million | Harriet Green, Peter Fankhauser | |
| 2015 | Decrease £7.8 billion | Increase £50 million | Peter Fankhauser | |
| 2016 | £7.8 billion | Decrease £42 million | ||
| 2017 | Increase £9 billion | Increase £46 million | ||
| 2018 | Increase £9.5 billion | Decrease −(£53) million |
Ownership
When the merger occurred in 2007, 52% of the shares in the newly formed company were owned by the German mail-order and department store firm Arcandor, which had previously owned Thomas Cook AG. The remaining 48% belonged to shareholders of MyTravel Group. Arcandor declared bankruptcy in June 2009, leading to the sale of its Thomas Cook shares in September of the same year.
As of June 2016, the principal shareholders of Thomas Cook Group plc included Invesco holding 19%, Standard Life Investments with 10%, and investor Guo Guangchang at 7.03%, while the rest of the shares were publicly traded.
Operations
Thomas Cook Group employed approximately 21,000 people worldwide, with about 9,000 based in the United Kingdom.
UK retail arm
Thomas Cook Retail Limited, the successor to Thomas Cook & Son, served as the group’s UK travel agency division. It operated a network of 555 stores across the UK, primarily offering package holidays through Thomas Cook Tour Operations and flight-only bookings via Thomas Cook Airlines. On 23 September 2019, it was placed into compulsory liquidation, along with all other UK group entities.
Tour operators
| Tour operator | Country | Logo | Group Tenure | Fate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Cook Tour Operations | United Kingdom | Sunny Heart | 2001–2019 | Compulsory liquidation; ceased operations on 23 September 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cook Germany | Germany | Sunny Heart | 2001–2019 | Compulsory liquidation; closed on 1 December 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cook France | France | Sunny Heart | 2001–2019 | Compulsory liquidation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cook Netherlands | Netherlands | Sunny Heart | 2001–2019 | Compulsory liquidation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cook Belgium | Belgium | Sunny Heart | 2001–2019 | Compulsory liquidation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cook China | China | Sunny Heart | 2016–2019 | Majority ownership by Fosun Tourism. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Cook India | India | Globe | 1881–2012 | Divested to Fairfax Financial. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airtours | United Kingdom | Independent logo | 2007–2019 (previously part of MyTravel Group) | Compulsory liquidation; ceased operations on 23 September 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ving | Norway Sweden |
Sunny Heart | 2007–2019 (previous MyTravel Group subsidiary) | Purchased by an investment consortium. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tjäreborg | Finland | Sunny Heart | 2007–2019 (former MyTravel Group subsidiary) | Acquired by an investment consortium. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spies | Denmark | Sunny Heart | 2007–2019 (former MyTravel Group subsidiary) | Acquired by an investment consortium. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neckermann | Poland Hungary Czech Republic |
Sunny Heart | 'Poland and Hungary: 2001–2019 Czech Republic: 2007–2019' |
'Compulsory liquidation.
' |- |
Neckermann Reisen | Austria Switzerland |
Sunny Heart | '2001–2019' | 'Compulsory liquidation; subsequently acquired by Anex Tours.
' |- |
Intourist | Russia | 'Independent and Sunny Heart' | '2011–2019' | 'Purchased by Anex Tours.
' |- |
Sunquest Vacations | 'Canada' | 'Independent' | '1995–2013' | 'Sold to Transat A.T.
' |} In Destination ManagementThomas Cook In Destination Management Limited functioned as an overseas management entity supporting its UK-based tour operator and airline. It coordinated hotel transfers via bus and provided hotel representatives for Thomas Cook clients. This division ceased its activities on 23 September 2019 following the group's compulsory liquidation. Hotel ChainsThomas Cook Hotels and Resorts Limited functioned as the Group’s fully owned hotel subsidiary, with a primary focus on operations within the European Union. Its portfolio featured prominent brands such as Casa Cook, Sentido, Sunprime, Cook's Club, Aldiana, Sunwing, SunConnect, and Smartline. AviationThe airline operations were managed under the Thomas Cook Group Airlines (TCGA) segment. Airlines
SponsorshipThomas Cook served as a principal sponsor for football clubs Manchester City and Peterborough United. On 22 May 2009, Manchester City announced that its six-year sponsorship agreement with Thomas Cook would conclude at the end of the 2008–09 Premier League season. Additionally, Thomas Cook was a sponsor of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, offering "affordable and accessible" holiday packages and accommodation throughout the event. External links |
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