Thomas Cook and The Co-operative Group are to merge their travel retail networks, creating the UK’s largest chain of high-street agencies.
Below we look at the key figures and dates behind the surprise deal:
Shops
Total combined shops: 1,204
Total shops with addition of Midlands Co-op: 1,307
Midlands Co-operative: 103
Co-op homeworkers: 345
Co-op franchise Freedom Travel: 148
Staff
Thomas Cook retail staff: 6,000
The Co-operative Travel staff: 2,900
Midlands Co-operative staff: 845
Redundancy
Cost of staff redundancy payments: £13 million
Cost of shop/office closures: £7 million
Total cost of rationalisation in first year: £30 million
Cost of merger before closures/redundancies: 0
Forecast annual savings within two years: £35 million
Profits
Thomas Cook retail operating profit 2009/10: £12.4 million
The Co-op Travel operating profit 2010: £100,000
Midland Co-op travel profit 2009: £1 million
Revenue
Thomas Cook retail annual revenue: £264 million
The Co-operative Travel revenue: £94 million
Shops by region
| Thomas Cook | Co-operative Travel | |
| London/South East/East Anglia | 212 | 84 |
| North | 171 | 181 |
| Midlands | 84 | 56 |
| South West | 158 | 12 |
| Wales | 57 | 22 |
| Scotland | 23 | 22 |
| Northern Ireland | 98 | 24 |
Shop leases expiry
| Thomas Cook | Co-operative Travel | |
| Expiring in one year | 99 | 26 |
| Expiring in 2-5 years | 359 | 105 |
Customers and sales
Combined customer base: 4.3 million
Co-operative Group members: 5 million
Thomas Cook in-house sales: 69%
Thomas Cook in-house package sales: 73%
Thomas Cook mainstream package sales through shops: 64%
Thomas Cook mainstream packages sold through Co-op: 12%
Forecast in-house sales through joint operation: 80%
The deal
Thomas Cook shares in company: 70%
Co-operative Travel shares in company: 30%
Period before one partner can buy full control: 5 years
Minimum dividend to Co-op in first 4 years: £40 million