Thomas Cook asked to find £ 200 million while trying to avert collapse
Tour operator Thomas Cook has confirmed that it is seeking £ 200 million in extra funding when trying to prevent a collapse.
The company said it is in talks with stakeholders, including leading Chinese shareholder company Fosun, to bridge the funding gap to avert joining the administration.
In an update to the market, it said that the fundraiser is expected to significantly dilute existing shareholders' stake in the company, with "significant risk of no recovery".
Was the company To go under, an estimated 180,000 people can be stranded abroad, while the company employs 22,000 people worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK.
Thomas Cook said the £ 200 million needed would be a "seasonal standby facility", the top of the £ 900 million it had already raised from Fosun and its lenders.
The travel company recently suffered as a result of increasing debt, and reported a net debt of £ 1[ads1].2 billion in its half-year results in May.
It ha It has also been hit hard by an influx of online competitors that has resulted in oversupply, forcing tour operators to cut prices.
The 178-year-old company could go to Sunday by Sunday, company insiders have reportedly told the Daily Mail. [19659009] We are proud of our British heritage and have sent you on reliable holidays for over 176 years. Take a look at our journey?? ? pic.twitter.com/ZX2b3hLmfj
– Thomas Cook (@ThomasCookUK) September 22, 2017
The newspaper also said that government officials have made plans for what would be "Britain's greatest homecoming of peacetime".
It is known as Operation Matterhorn, and has been put together by the Department for Transport and Civil Aviation Authority, the newspaper states.
A department for transportation calls said: "We do not speculate on the financial situation of individual businesses."
Last month, Supreme Court Attorney Tom Smith QC, who led Thomas Cook's legal team, told Mr. Justice Norris that the Thomas Cook group had a "net debt position" of around £ 1.25 billion.
He said a Scheduled deal with Chinese tourism group Fosun would involve £ 900 million injection of "new money".
Smith said Thomas Cook had suffered due to a "general economic downturn", declining consumer confidence, increased competition from lower cost competitions , the effect of a 2018 heat wave, "environmental concerns" and the poor performance of Sterling.
