Thomas Cook: Hays Travel paid just £6m to buy 555 of failed travel firm's shops

MPs heard how Hays Travel paid £6 million to buy the 555 Thomas Cook shops.

All 555 of Thomas Cook's stores were bought for just 6 million pounds

MP Ian Liddell-Grainger said: "They bought 555 shops - £6 million is not a lot of money."

He said the contracts agreed with directors are being examined to see if the contractual arrangements around bonuses have been met.

A plane model from a Thomas Cook store

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, former chief executive of Thomas Cook, said he never thought its debt pile was unmanageable during his leadership until 2011.

He also defended the merger of Thomas Cook with Co-op Travel and other acquisitions during his tenure despite the weight of debts.

Mr Fontenla-Novoa said the latter chiefs should have looked at disposing assets earlier if they believed they were unable to service that debt.