Thomas Cook’s 555 shops to be bought by rival
Thomas Cook is finally out of business and is bring bought over by its rival, Sunderland-based Hays, which aims to open all existing shops immediately. The new owner of Thomas Cook has offered 600 jobs to former staffers who will be hired as part of rapid expansion plans which is big for Hays, as it has operated with only 190 shops across the UK so far.
John Hays set the company up 40 years ago and thinks this may be the plot twist they have been waiting for. The amalgamation would cause almost doubling numbers in terms of shops and workers while the industry retains its hard-working force. His wife Irene ci-owns the business which boasts of 1900 staff members and £379m, reporting profits of £10m.
It is currently unknown what the price of the deal has been.
Irene Hays, the chief of Hays has spoken out on Thomas Cook, calling it a loved pillar of the UK as well as the global travel industry. She wishes to build on the goodwill of Thomas Cook by utilizing the staff members for better stead for the future.
Over 100 fresh jobs will be created at the Sunderland headquarters with the rest of the jobs in other parts of the UK. When it collapsed, 22,000 Thomas Cook employees were turned out worldwide, with 9,000 were lost in the UK itself. The Civil Aviation Authority brought on the biggest peacetime repatriation to bring 150,000 British clients of the travel agency back home. The last flight of these will be landing at Manchester Airport on Monday.
‘Deal with landlords’
The TSSA which also had members working at Thomas Cook is glad of it. Manuel Cortes, the General Secretary of TSSA said that this had offered real hope for the reemployment of former staff.
Now, according to him, more details of the deal are going to be gathered and an urgent meeting with Hays will determine the role of the Union to expand with the company. David Chapman, the Official Receiver, has said that this sale is an important step in the direction of unfurling the financial drain of 178-year-old Thomas Cook. The business has six months to occupy all Thomas Cook stores, enough time to make new deals with the landlords.
Ian Bell who heads the travel and tourism at accountancy firm RSM called the buying a shrewd move by Hays in a scenario that encourages holiday-goers to book holidays online.
