About 600 shops selling tourist products on the main shopping streets of Europe were closed.
After the bankruptcy of the oldest British tour operator Thomas Cook, about 600 shops selling tourist products on the main shopping streets were closed. The business of one of the largest players in the global organized tourism market collapsed after it became known that the company could not agree on debt restructuring with creditors.
Following the announcement of the end of operations by Thomas Cook, all flights and trips have been cancelled. In particular, about 150,000 UK customers of the company were left on foreign trips without support. And about 21 thousand employees of the company around the world lost their jobs. The government of the country and the Civil Aviation Authority launched a program to return the clients of the bankrupt company to their homeland from September 23 to October 6.
The company was founded in 1841 by entrepreneur Thomas Cook. According to the latest data, it served a total of about 19 million people a year, working in 16 countries around the world. The company's portfolio also included its own airline, about 200 hotels with 40 thousand rooms and other assets.
Recently, the business has been under serious pressure due to various unfavorable economic and political factors. In addition, the company was negatively affected by competition from online agencies and low-cost airlines.
Thomas Cook was expected to avoid bankruptcy if it signed a £900m deal with China's Fosun. As a result of unsuccessful negotiations with creditors, as well as after the refusal of assistance from the British government, the company decided to close the business.
Capitalization of Thomas Cook on the London Stock Exchange over the past six months has decreased from 440 to 69 million pounds. The Fosun Group, which owns the company's 18%, offered a £950m investment in exchange for the tour operator's 75% and TC's 25%, but the deal fell through due to "insurmountable reasons." In a statement, TC's creditor group noted that despite the best efforts of stakeholders, the £1.1bn funding requirement for the company's restructuring was too large.
Experts agree that one of the most famous brands in the tourism market, despite its exceptional value in the past, may completely cease to exist, as its image was irreparably damaged as a result of the collapse of the company.
