Thomas Cook sells Middle East businesses

Thomas Cook has sold its subsidiaries in Egypt and Lebanon as part of a turnaround plan focusing on core markets.

Picture: Getty

A Bahrain-based buyer paid £6.5 million in cash for the businesses, which include foreign exchange services. Thomas Cook will continue to take holidaymakers to Egypt.

Chief executive Harriet Green said the sale was “further progress on our rapid transformation of Thomas Cook”.

“This sale will enable us to focus more of our capital and resources on our core businesses, supporting the delivery of profitable growth,” she added.

The world’s oldest travel agent almost collapsed under debts of more than £1 billion last year.

Green, who was appointed to lead a turnaround, recently insisted the firm is now “back from the brink”, but its latest update suggested late summer trading had been disappointing and winter bookings had yet to take off. Its latest performance contrasted with a buoyant set of figures from arch-rival Tui Travel.