Thomas Cook to close 200 stores

Thomas Cook today said it will close 200 stores over the next two years as it battles to turn around its ailing UK business.

It had already said it expects to close about 75 sites following its merger with the Co-op’s UK high street travel business, which left it with more than 1,300 travel shops, but today said a further 125 will be shut.

The group also revealed it had slumped to a £398 million pre-tax loss in the year to September 30, compared with a £42 million profit in the previous year, after it was hit by poor trading in the UK and the Arab Spring put tourists off travelling to Tunisia and Egypt.

The group, which sells more than 22 million holidays a year in the UK, delayed its results last month as it revealed it had gone back to its lenders to ask for an additional £100 million lifeline.

Its shares slumped 75% in one day amid fears for its survival but the 170-year-old company claims it is now on a sound financial footing.

Thomas Cook has issued a series of profit warnings over recent months as people cut back on holidays, while the Arab Spring also hit bookings to Tunisia and Egypt.

The poor performance in the UK led to the departure of its chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa in August, leaving the group to be run by his deputy Sam Weihagen until a replacement is found.