Thomas Cook UK Shops Sold to Retail Rival Owned by Husband-and-Wife Team
Skift Take
Given the state of the traditional retail industry, on the surface this appears to be a risky deal. But Hays Travel is a profitable, growing business and will probably have secured the assets at a knockdown price. The company knows better than most how to make shops work.
A travel agency chain based in the north of England will snap up all of Thomas Cook’s 555 retail shops, potentially saving thousands of jobs.
Sunderland-headquartered Hays Travel has agreed to a deal with those in charge of the Thomas Cook liquidation. A spokesperson for the Insolvency Service declined to say how much Hays Travel was paying, saying that the details were "commercially sensitive".
The purchase will catapult Hays Travel into the retailing big leagues, potentially quadrupling its size and giving it a total of 745 shops across the country.
"Thomas Cook was a much-loved brand and a pillar of the UK and the global travel industry. We will build on the good things Thomas Cook had – not least its people – and that will put us in even better st
