The banks providing emergency funds to Thomas Cook in a deal announced late Friday night will not be involved in the day-to-day running of the company or be represented on the board
Thomas Cook interim chief executive Sam Weihagen said: “We won’t have bank participation on the board.”
Weihagen thanked the company’s banks for agreeing a deal quickly and said: “We are pleased with the deal. It secures our business. Now we have a lot to do. But we are confident we can make it happen and build the strength of Thomas Cook.”
The company will appoint external consultants to assist with a group strategic review and maintain “close contact with our banks”, said Weihagen.
However, a turnaround plan for the UK is already underway, he said. “Our UK business this year has not performed as well as we hoped and not as well as our competitors – and that was due to management issues.
“So we have replaced the management in the UK. We have implemented a turnaround plan and I’m confident the plan will make a difference, although it may take two to three years.”
Of the group position, Weihagen said: “We are working hard to reduce our debt and improve our balance sheet.
A spokesman denied a suggestion that the delay in issuing the company’s annual results had occurred because its auditor had raised concern about the group’s finances.
He also disputed suggestions Thomas Cook had paid a high price for its bank deal, saying: “The funding is not expensive. There is an incentive to get the debt down. This time next year we may have fully paid it off.”