Thomas Cook Group to get Peterborough HQ – 14 June 2007

The new merged Thomas Cook Group created by the merger of Thomas Cook and MyTravel is expected to announce Peterborough as the group’s UK head office later this month.

Industry observers claim MyTravel’s Rochdale offices will be sold off because they are not big enough to house staff of the merged group.

A spokeswoman stressed no announcement would be made until the merger is complete. The group’s chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa will announce location, brand and IT plans to staff at the end of next week.

The group announced its new management structure last week but did not include jobs for current MyTravel UK managing director of charter tour operations Phil Aird-Mash and deputy managing director Steve Barrass.

There will be four executive directors, including joint chief executives Fontenla-Novoa and Peter McHugh.

The board under UK and Ireland chief executive John Bloodworth includes Simon Robinson as director for distribution, Ian Derbyshire and Peter Constanti as directors for the holidays division, and Frank Pullman as director for the airline.

The roles of group strategy director and independent travel division director remain vacant, and are thought to have been offered to Barrass. 

Fontenla-Novoa confirmed Barrass had been offered a position and Aird-Mash had agreed to stay for a year. Barrass would not comment.

“I’ve been trying to recruit these guys for the last four to five years – now I’ve got them I’m not going to let them go,” Fontenla-Novoa told delegates at the Institute of Travel & Tourism (ITT) conference.

Meanwhile, Fontenla-Novoa is hopeful the two companies will be fully merged by the end of the year and will take part in future industry consolidation across Europe.

Thomas Cook and MyTravel will unite on June 19 following a court hearing on Monday to establish the company legally.