Thomas Cook have confirmed it is seeking £200 million additional funding this morning due to a funding crisis and is in emergency talks with stakeholders in an attempt to bridge the financial gap.
Thomas Cook have addressed concerns of holiday makers on their official Twitter platform ‘Thomas Cook Cares’, reassuring customers that everything thing is ‘business as usual’. In response to one concerned customer, they said: ‘The financial news is nothing to worry about. It’s business as usual here and all our flights and holidays are going ahead as planned.
Currently, in the region of 150,000 holiday makers from the UK are abroad on Thomas Cook holidays and packages sold through Thomas Cook are all ATOL protected, which means that all holiday makers currently abroad would be taken care of in the event of any collapse and that customers with future holiday plans that do not go head would receive refunds. Contingency plans are also being drafted by The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Department of Transport (DFT) who are also involved in close talks regarding Thomas Cook’s future.
Presently though, there is reassurance from Thomas Cook as they again took to Twitter, saying: ‘We are working on recapitalisation plans to provide financial stability for the Thomas Cook Group going forward. The media speculation has no impact on our customers to the operations of our business, to reassure you.’
Thomas Cook have issued the following statement: ‘Discussions to agree final terms on recapitalisation and reorganisation of the company are continuing between the company and a range of stake holders.
‘These discussions include a recent request for a seasonal standby facility of £200 million, on top of the announced £900 million injection of new capital.
‘The recapitalisation is expected to result in existing shareholders’ interests being significantly diluted with significant risk of no recovery. The company will provide further updates in due course.’
Thomas Cook are ‘business as usual’ with no disruption to customers at this time.
