Thomas Cook’s collapse on Monday left some 600,000 holidaymakers stranded and sparked the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II.
The 178-year-old debt-plagued group, which had struggled against fierce online competition for some time and blamed Brexit uncertainty for a recent drop in bookings, failed to secure £200 million from private investors and collapsed in the early hours.
Monday’s bankruptcy, which followed a lengthy period of chronic financial turmoil after a disastrous 2007 merger deal, left some 600,000 tourists stranded worldwide according to Thomas Cook, while its 22,000 staff are now out of a job. The British government launched emergency plans to bring some 150,000 UK holidaymakers back home from destinations including Bulgaria, Cuba, Turkey and the US.
‘No choice’
Thomas Cook said in a statement that “despite considerable efforts”, it was unable to reach an agreement between the company’s stakeholders and proposed new money providers.
“The company’s board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect,” it added.
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