Hays Travel has bought Thomas Cook’s 555 high street stores and taken on its 2,500 workforce.
The husband-and-wife run travel firm currently has 190 shops and doesn’t plan any immediate closures, although that might prove inevitable in areas where there is an overlap.
Unlike Thomas Cook, Hays is debt-free, even after the cash acquisition of the stores. Latest books reported net cash of £104m.
The purchase is thought to have been for less than £50m.
